


Please Don't Hunt Me Down, Brother

by Emrys_Ace



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 23:12:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9350432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emrys_Ace/pseuds/Emrys_Ace
Summary: In another version of the Supernatural universe, Sam and Dean Winchester are still hunters, their parents both dead, but Gabriel and Castiel Shurley are hunters, too.Castiel's real surname is Novak. He's adopted by Gabriel's father Chuck Shurley and Chuck's sister, Amara Shurley and brought into the Shurley hunter home after his family are killed by vampires when he's no older than four.One day, Chuck hears from another hunter of sightings of the vampires that killed Castiel's family. Gabriel, intensely fond of his younger adopted brother, insists on hunting them down- but is captured and turned- and forced to kidnap Castiel.Chuck and Amara contact Bobby for help with the missing boys, who passes the case to Sam and Dean.When the Winchester brothers set off on this hunt, everything they know will change. Love hides in the unlikeliest of places.





	1. Welcome To The Shurley Home For The Unfortunately Orphaned

**Author's Note:**

> I've put Major Character Death in the Archive Warnings, but I'm not sure if these characters really count as major or not :/

CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO THE SHURLEY HOME FOR THE UNFORTUNATELY ORPHANED.

 

\-- Castiel --

**Then, 15th February 1987**

Meet Castiel Shurley.

His real name's Castiel Novak. But his new name- or not so new name, having had it for more than ten years- is Castiel Shurley.

The Novaks are all dead. His father, Jimmy, a pious, caring, hard-working man. His mother Amelia, a loving woman who made many mistakes, but tried her hardest to make it up to her children. And his little sister, Claire, with pale blonde hair and an attitude so feisty, you'd never believe it had belonged to a two-year old girl.

Claire had been only two years old when her and both her parents were brutally murdered. Slaughtered. Dragged screaming from their children's clutches, Jimmy and Amelia fought their hardest, but the monsters who took them were too strong- they were overwhelmed, and their blood was drained from them, every last drop. Tiny Claire bawled and yelled and wouldn't stop making a godawful racket that would have surely woken the neighbours- who didn't even live in terraced housing- so the monsters took her down too, to shut her up.

Castiel had heard the bumps of bodies and screeches of furniture from his parents' room, and heard gruff voices calling to each other that did obviously not belong to his parents. He'd wanted so badly, more than anything, to run to them, to save them, to make the bad people go away. But his instincts told him to run- in the opposite direction. While the attackers seemed mostly occupied with subduing Castiel's parents, the child dashed to the nursery where his sister should have been sleeping. She was sleeping-but she was in a deep sleep. One that, once he took one look inside her cot, he knew she would never wake up from.

There was so much blood. Castiel didn't know such a small child- a toddler- could have so much blood in her.

Castiel was only four years old.

**Now, 15th February 2003**

It had been sixteen years. Sixteen years since Castiel's family had been killed. Back then, he hadn't know who- or what- had done it, and when the man and woman who saved him told him what had orphaned him, he hadn't believed it. Refused to believe it.

Vampires. Vampires had killed his family.

_He was only four years old. He'd barely known what vampires even were. But what he did know was that they were not human. And previously he'd thought they were fictional. The man and woman who'd crashed through his front door, hot on the heels of these creatures, had told him they were real. That all the nightmarish monsters in legends and across many fantasy stories- are all real. And it was their job to hunt them._

_The man, who introduced himself as Chuck, and the woman, his sister Amara, burst through the door to his parents' bedroom, only to find Castiel's parents dead, lying on their bed, hands intertwined, their necks and wrists mauled. Their bedroom window was smashed- the vampires had escaped, and they were nowhere in sight. Amara insisted on pursuing them, but Chuck refused, saying they'd got away- it would take a while longer to track them down again, and there was a newly orphaned child here in need of help. Castiel wouldn't speak as Chuck introduced them, and instead just stood gazing up at them in silence, tears streaming down his face. While Amara scouted around the street, looking for any signs of the vampires, and at the same time ensuring none of the neighbours had been hurt, Chuck gently removed little Claire's body from her cot, laying her in between her parents on the ruined bed. When Castiel saw the rest of his family together, side by side in death, he finally spoke,_

_"Who killed my family? I want to know who killed them."_

_Chuck turned to the young child, deep sympathy in his eyes. This was not a talk he wanted to give a frightened four-year-old orphan._

_"I don't know who killed your family. I don't know who, but I know what killed them." He took a deep breath, steadying himself to break the news. "It was vampires. Vampires attacked your family and drained all their blood. Do you know what vampires are?"_

_Castiel nodded. "I thought they weren't real, though."_

_"They are real, one hundred percent. They are not the only monsters out there. You see, Amara and I, we are hunters. Our job is to find and kill these monsters before they can hurt anyone else.  There are many hunters in this world." He paused, crouching down so that his eyes were levelled with Castiel's. "What is your name?"_

_"Castiel Novak."_

_"Well, Castiel. Do you have any family you can stay with?"_

_"No. My grandparents are all dead."_

_"Do you have anywhere else you can go?"_

_"No."_

_"Then, Castiel, I invite you to come and live with my family. It's just me, my sister, my four sons Lucifer, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. We also have two young orphaned kids like you, living with us, Hannah and Balthazar. Their families were killed by monsters too. We can take you in and care for you, Castiel."_

Castiel agreed to go with Chuck Shurley and his sister, and has lived with them ever since. They tried to teach him what he should have learned as a normal child as best they could, but as he grew older, he wanted to hunt. And so they let him, because they couldn't refuse that to a child to hunt down what killed his family.

On his sixteenth birthday, four years ago, Chuck bought Castiel his first gun and his first blade, and taught him everything he knew about hunting.

Every year on the 15th of February, Castiel would sit alone in his bedroom and reflect back on what he remembered of his family, and prayed to whatever was up there that they were happy wherever they were now.

Castiel, sitting on the edge of his bed, looked down at the blade in his hands, a machete, perfect for chopping off vamps' heads, weighing it. He had skipped breakfast, as the annual reminder of his family's deaths always left him with a reduced appetite. He'd been trying to track down the vampires who'd killed his family, for years, but with no success. As far as he knew, no other hunters had seen or killed them. It was as if they'd disappeared off the grid altogether.

A thumping on his bedroom door roused him from his thoughts. A voice called from the corridor- his older adopted brother, Gabriel.

"Hey, Cas. Are you hungry? Michael's making lunch."

Cas slowly set down the blade on his nightstand, standing and straightening up. He threw open his curtains, scrunching his eyes shut against the bright midday sunlight. He'd got dressed when he woke up, but his feet were bare, and before moving to the door, he pulled on a pair of socks.

At the door, he paused, his hand on the knob. He still didn't feel like eating, but he should leave his room at least once, to see his family, They all know about this yearly habit of staying cooped up in his bedroom, and don't disturb him. But Gabriel, the closest family member to him of the Shurleys- the original and the adopted- always came knocking to see if he wanted food, to make sure his younger brother was dealing well.

When he turned the knob and pulled open the door, Gabriel was leaning against the door frame, a bright red cherry lollipop in his mouth. Gabriel had an unnaturally sweet tooth, Castiel was still surprised he had never needed fillings.

"Hey kiddo."

"Hi, Gabe. What's Michael cooking?"

"Dunno. Smells meaty and divine, though. Come on. Dad got a call this morning and has gone to answer it- a new case, probably- and Amara should be coming back from that werewolf hunt today." Gabriel answered, speaking around the lollipop in his mouth, his speech slightly mumbling.

Castiel stepped out into the corridor, and Gabriel straightened up, walking ahead of his brother to the kitchen.

Gabe's right, that does smell divine, Castiel thought as they entered the dining room, the kitchen adjacent.

Hearing them walk in, the second-oldest original Shurley brother, Michael, turned his head from where he was at the stove, frying something in a pan, and nodded at Castiel.

"Good morning, Cas. How're you feeling?"

"All's good, Mikey." Castiel smiled at his older brother. "What's that you're frying? It smells so good."

"Well, I opted for a cooked breakfast/lunch this morning, as a celebration for when Amara gets home, which should be very soon. I've got the usual bacon, sausages, mushrooms and eggs, and a mountain of toast already on the table. Today I'm also including the Shurley family's famous hash browns!"

Gabriel chuckled at that. "Oh, come on, Mikey. Since when have you ever been able to make Amara's hash browns? She's the only one who can perfect that complicated recipe."

"Shut your face, Gabe. I can make them, easy. Amara will be proud of me when she gets home." Michael insisted, shooting a challenging look at his younger brother. Gesturing at the dining table with a wooden spoon he held in his hand, he said "Sit down, idiots. Everyone else is already here. You're late."

Castiel and Gabriel seated themselves at their usual places around the large oak dining table, and Castiel looked around at his siblings. When he'd first arrived at the Shurley home, there was Chuck's four original sons, himself, and only two other orphans, Hannah and Balthazar- but since then, Chuck and Amara had taken in three more unfortunately orphaned children- two boys, Bartholomew and Malachi, and a redheaded girl, Anna. Castiel wasn't particularly close with the latter three, but he was quite close with Hannah, and enjoyed Balthazar's company too.

Chuck originally had four sons- but the eldest, Lucifer, had left the family ten years ago. He left the day he'd turned eighteen. Chuck had brought home that day the two new boys, Bartholomew and Malachi (Anna came later), and when he'd introduced them to his own sons and Castiel, he'd asked them to love these new boys like their own family, to respect them as much as him- or even, more than him. Castiel, Gabriel, Raphael and Michael readily agreed to accept them into the family, but Lucifer refused. He'd been annoyed at Chuck adding new additions to the family, complaining that they'd steal away all his attention, and refused to acknowledge them as his siblings. Chuck tried to reason with him, but grew impatient- and finally, he threw his oldest son out of the house.

"Mikey, do you know what Dad got called about this morning?" Gabriel asked, twisting around to face his brother, still at the stove.

"Nope. He left early. I was up, and asked him what it was about, but he just said he's got a new lead for some monster he's tracking. He looked very determined, and rushed out of the door. Whatever's been found, it's got to be something really important." Michael turned off the hob on the stove, and brought the rest of the breakfast to the dining table. His hands on his hips, he surveyed his handiwork, "Ah, I think that's everything now."

He untied his apron and hung it back up on the hooks holding the other kitchen aprons, and sat down. He sat straight up again- "Wait, where's Raphael?"

"I assume he's still in bed. I haven't seen him yet this morning."

"Oi, Raphael!" Gabriel shouted in the direction of the bedrooms. "Get your lazy ass out of bed! Mikey's made lunch, and Dad and Amara should be home soon!"

"Shut your face!" they heard a distant call back from Gabriel's older brother, and then they heard something else- the front door of the house, opening.

Michael leapt up from his seat. "Either that's Dad, or-"

Amara limped into the kitchen, and Michael forgot what he was going to say. The state Castiel's adopted aunt was in was surprising, and for a moment he sat there, silent, unsure of what to say.

"Bloody hell, what happened, Amara? You're a sight for sore eyes." Raphael asked, surprise in his voice, walking into the room, dressed, but with a very messy bedhead.

Amara truly was a sight for sore eyes- literally, too. She had a glorious shiner on one of her eyes, her face was covered in cuts, and one arm was in a sling. She smiled weakly.

"Those damn werewolves gave me a really hard time. I tried negotiating with them- tried to come to an agreement that I'd make sure hunters would lay off them if they left humans alone, but many of them refused, insisting that human hearts are the only hearts they will take. And then they attacked me, so I had to kill them all in self-defence."

"How many were there?" Castiel asked.

"Well, there were only three that attacked me and that I killed, but their whole pack is of maybe twenty werewolves, as far as I know from what information I could get out of them before I had to kill them." Amara waved a hand in dismissal at Castiel's attempts to help her put her bags away as she moved to dump her stuff down and find a seat at the table. "I'm injured, Cas, but I can still carry my bags. Where's Chuck, is he not back yet?"

"No. Michael said he left early this morning, and from what he could tell, this was something important. He might not be back for a while yet. Should we wait for him?"

"No, don't bother. By the time he gets back, if he gets back at all today, the food will probably be cold. He won't mind." Amara leaned forward across the table with her good arm, grabbing for some food. The others took this as a cue to start eating, and soon the room was silent, save for any sounds of chewing.

Gabriel still had his lollipop in his mouth, and Castiel frowned at him.

"Gabe, you can't eat your lunch with a lollipop in your mouth."

"Says who? Watch me." Gabriel grinned at Castiel, and shoved a piece of toast in his mouth, chewing it around the lollipop. Castiel sighed, and turned his attention back to his own plate. Despite it being that day of the year, and having the usual diminished appetite, he still managed to surprise himself with how much he managed to eat.

He was reaching for another piece of toast, when there was a sound from the front hall. The door- opening again. The toast was still in his hand, unbuttered, when Chuck walked into the kitchen.

Castiel’s adopted father had dark brown hair, and a beard he hadn’t shaved in several days. The worry lines on his face were creased, and there was a strange look in his eyes. One of sorrow, but also of revelation.

“Chuck? What’s the matter?” Amara looked at her brother, concern in her eyes. “Did something happen while you were out?”

“It’s more about why I was out in the first place.” Chuck let out a deep sigh, slumping slightly against the door frame. “You remember Ash Lowell, right? One of the hunters who helps run the Harvelle’s Roadhouse?”

Amara nodded. “Yes, I remember Ash. He’s the genius at tracking monsters.”

“He is. And those skills have come in handy again. He called me this morning about some information hunters had brought to the Roadhouse. There’s been a sighting.”

“Of what?”

“Of…” Chuck averted his eyes from his family. Then he took a deep breath, still looking away. “Of the vampires that killed Castiel’s family.”

The toast was forgotten in Castiel’s hand. The same words kept spinning around and around in his head.

_There’s been a sighting of the vampires that killed Castiel’s family._


	2. I Did My Waiting, 16 Years Of It

\-- Castiel --  
There has been a sighting of the vampires that killed Castiel’s family.  
The vampires that killed Castiel’s family.  
Castiel could feel all the eyes in the room turn to rest on him as Chuck delivered the news. All the air had been knocked from his lungs.  
The words were so unexpected, Castiel could not believe them.  
He’d done his waiting, sixteen years of it. After ten years had passed, he began to feel as if he’d never find them- but he hadn’t given up, no. He’d never give up. He’d hunt his whole life, till he was an old man, if he ever made it that far, if he had to. He would not let those monsters get away with ruining his whole life. They had once been human, surely it could not have been that long so that they forgot what humanity was? Though, there was nothing that said they didn’t retain their humanity, even after being turned. Vampires were not demons, they didn’t spend centuries in Hell being tortured, they didn’t have darkness in their souls. Did they not care one bit about the poor, unknowing child they’d orphaned?  
But Castiel was not unknowing anymore. He knew what they were, and he knew that he would come for them one day, and they must know it too.

\-- Gabriel --  
Of all the things Chuck could have told them, of all the news he could have brought, it had to be this. On the anniversary of his beloved brother’s parents’ deaths. Gabriel glanced at Castiel, who had gone deathly pale. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. Gabriel knew that Castiel's memory of his real family had faded slightly over the years, as happens- that he couldn't remember exactly what his father's voice had sounded like, or what his mother's hugs had felt like, or what the exact shade of blonde his sister's hair had been. But what Gabriel also knew was that not a day went by when he didn't think of them, when he didn't wish he could see them again- wished that they were still alive, even if that meant he never would've had to be saved by Chuck and Amara, he would never have been brought into the hunter's life, he never would've met his adopted family. Gabriel never took that personally, and neither did anyone else. Gabriel loved Castiel fiercely, just as if they were true blood brothers. When Castiel was first introduced to the Shurley family, Gabriel was the first to say hi to him, to give him a hug and offered him one of his lollipops. As the years went by, Gabriel always looked out for his younger brother- never even thought about the fact that he was adopted- and they would always hunt together.  
Gabriel knew- they all knew that Castiel would be the one to hunt down and kill these vampires. But Gabriel, as always, wanted to come with him- so he was the first one to break out of his reverie as he stood up and said,  
"Dad." he said, looking his father in the eye. "You're going to let Castiel take this, right?"  
Chuck smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't give this job to anybody else."  
"Then I'll go with him."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Of course I'm sure. Castiel is my brother. We've always hunted together, this time's no different. Besides," he said, winking at Castiel, who looked up at him gratefully. "he needs me to be there to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."  
Castiel stood up and threw his arms around his brother. "Thank you, Gabe. I'm glad it's you, fighting with me."  
Gabriel patted him on the back. "Of course, Cassie. I've always had your back, and I always will."  
Turning back to his father, he asked, "So when do you propose we leave? Has the vampires' nest been located?"  
"Yes." Chuck took a map from his pocket and spread it on the kitchen floor, since the dining table was occupied. The map was of the local area, with the Shurley house marked on it with a green dot. Also marked on the map was a red cross- this, Chuck pointed to.  
"This is an old abandoned barn, where Ash figures your vampires are cooped up. We previously thought it was unoccupied, and indeed it was for a while, for we have cleared nests from there before- so these ones must have moved after the last time we hunted there. It's only a few miles out- you can take my truck. But you'll need backup."  
"I'm sure we can handle a few vampires just fine." Gabriel replied indignantly.  
"Gabriel." Chuck said, with a tone of warning in his voice. "It isn't just a few vampires. The nest has grown, considerably. There are around twenty vampires holed up there at the moment. It'll take several hunters to clear it. You will need help, son, if you want to get out of there alive and in one piece. I've asked Ash for some backup, and he's got some trusted hunters to help you. Jo Harvelle, daughter of Ellen Harvelle who runs the Harvelle's Roadhouse, will be assisting you, along with a hunter named Garth Fitzgerald. My good friend Bobby Singer is busy with another case at the moment, and so are his two adopted sons, Dean and Sam Winchester, but he's volunteered his friend Rufus Turner to help, and a couple of cousins of the Winchesters- Gwen and Johnny Campbell. That's seven hunters, including you, so you should all get out of there alive, alright?"  
"Of course, Dad. When do we set off?"  
"We don't know if the vampires will stay in that barn forever, since they seem like they've moved several times, so it's best to get it out of the way as soon as possible. While I was out, I arranged with all the backup hunters to meet here this afternoon- they should be here in an hour or so. While you wait, you might as well finish your lunch, and prepare. Have you both got enough dead man's blood?"  
"I think so. There should still be plenty in the basement freezer." Gabriel replied, and took this as a cue. He'd had enough lunch now, and got up, heading out of the kitchen, to the basement. Footsteps echoed behind him, and Castiel caught up with him.  
"Are you ready for this, Cas?"  
"Of course I'm ready. I've done my waiting. Now, after sixteen years, I can finally avenge my family. Then I'll be at peace."  
"That's good to hear." Gabriel ruffled his younger brother's hair, who tried to dodge him, but Gabriel caught him, squeezing him tightly. "You're awesome, Cassie, you know that right?"  
"Why, thanks, Gabe. What would I do without you?"  
"Oh, I dunno. Crash and burn." Gabriel gave Castiel a friendly punch on the shoulder as they reached the door down to the basement, earning one back, that he was too late to dodge. "Ow!"  
\---  
An hour later, all the empty dishes had been cleared from the table, and Gabriel and Castiel were both armed with blades and syringes of dead man's blood. While they waited for the hunter backup to arrive, Gabriel volunteered to do the washing up- and Michael was grateful for a break. As Gabriel plunged his hands into the warm soapy water to scrub at the plates, a strange feeling of foreboding washed over him, as if this would be the last time he ever washed dishes. And when that was done, and the draining board was overflowing with dripping wet, squeaky clean dishes, he sat down next to Castiel to wait, and the air seemed a lot denser- heavy with dread, and Gabriel felt as if this was the last time they'd all sit together as a family, excluding Lucifer. But it didn't seem as if he'd ever return.  
And he rejoiced the distraction when the first hunters arrived. If he sat stewing in his thoughts any longer, he'd grow restless, he'd need to punch something, or bite down on a lollipop.  
The first to arrive were Jo and Garth. Jo sauntered into the kitchen, smiling at everyone, and winking at Michael, who'd not-so-secretly had a soft spot for her for a long time. Yeah, maybe she was a young, blonde girl but she was strong, too, and could hunt well. She wasn't much younger than Gabriel, an adult, but her mother was still fiercely protective of her- and by the slightly grumpy look her in eyes, Gabriel could tell that she'd probably had an argument with her mother before she left. Garth followed right behind her, grinning at everyone, and when he spotted Gabriel, he raised his hand for a fist bump, to which Gabriel obliged.  
"Hey, bro! How are you?"  
"I'm good, Garth. Haven't had too many difficult hunts recently. You?"  
"All's good. I was getting bored, because all the other hunters were getting the good jobs- but I'm here now, for this one." lowering his voice to a whisper, so that only Gabriel could hear, "this is about the vamps that killed Cas' family, right?"  
"Yeah, it is."  
A few minutes later, a tall dark man with a moustache and a hardened look on his face entered- Rufus Turner, friend of Bobby Singer, closely followed by a younger man and woman, with pale skin and brown hair- Johnny and Gwen Campbell.  
"Now that everyone's here, I think it's time you set off." Chuck announced. "Is everyone ready? Cas, are you ready?"  
"As I'll ever be." Castiel replied, hauling himself up off his seat. “Let’s go.”  
\---  
Once the seven hunters had all piled into Chuck's truck, and set off, it only took them about fifteen minutes to arrive at the place Chuck suggested they park. Climbing out of the truck, and closing the doors, as quietly as possible, locking the doors, they set off through a sparse group of trees, machetes drawn. It was only early afternoon, so it was still full daylight- which meant all the vampires would still probably be cooped up inside the barn. Though it may have been easier to hunt them at night, when they could be more easily hidden- night was also the time the vampires hunted, and Gabriel and the others wanted to make sure none of them escaped.  
They had barely been walking for five minutes, when up ahead of them loomed an old run-down barn, that had obviously been deserted for years. Nobody stood outside on watch from this side that they could see- and after Jo scouted quickly around the whole perimeter, they discovered that nobody was guarding from the outside- which meant they'd all be inside.  
As they neared a small rusted red door in the side of the barn, Castiel gripped his blade tighter, and Gabriel could see as clear as day the determination in his eyes. Castiel tried the door handle, and finding it unlocked, entered the barn, Gabriel close behind him, followed by the others. The little room they'd walked into was also empty, and after sweeping the floor and walls for any possible traps, they split up. Johnny and Gwen Campbell would take the near side of the barn to them, Rufus and Jo would take the far end, and Garth would accompany Castiel and Gabriel to find the specific vampires that killed Castiel's family.  
Gabriel shook hands with everyone, clapping them on the back.  
"See you all in a bit. Try and get out of this one piece, okay?"  
"We'll see you in a little while. Be careful, boys." Jo waved goodbye, and set off with Rufus, carefully opening another door in the room and stepping through. Johnny and Gwen left to their corner of the barn, so that it was only Gabriel, Garth and Castiel left.  
"Are you ready for this, kiddo?" Gabriel patted a hand on Castiel's shoulder, who gently shrugged it off.  
"Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm ready for this?" Castiel sighed. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. The sooner we find those vamps and relieve them of their heads, the better."  
Without another word, Castiel walked away, through the remaining door in the room. When they emerged from the other side, they found themselves in a short corridor, with a battered wooden door at one end, and two more, darker, wood doors on either side of the corridor wall. Stealthily, Gabriel crept forwards, to one of the dark wood doors, and eased it carefully open. He raised his blade in his hand, ready for a fight, but met no opposition on the other side- the room was small, and bare of living things- just a supply room, with dusty shelves and a few worn cardboard boxes, with a putrid smell wafting from them. He didn’t want to know what was inside them.  
Back out in the corridor again, Garth had investigated the room behind the other door, and found the same as Gabriel- a supply room, no vampires.  
So they must be beyond the final door, at the end of the corridor.  
Gesturing for Castiel and Garth to follow, Gabriel inched along the corridor, and pressed his ear to the slight crack in the door.  
Voices. Faint, but audible. He didn’t recognise any of them, so he knew. These must be the vampires. Maybe even the ones who killed his dear brother’s family.  
“Cas.” He whispered as quiet as he could, turning back around. “Did you ever see the faces of the vampires who killed your family?”  
Castiel scrunched up his face in concentration, trying to remember if he did. “I think I did, only for a brief second though. But I’m sure, that once we see them, I’ll know who they are. Even if I saw them only for a moment, you don’t forget the faces of the ones that stole everything you loved from you, and ruined your life.”  
Gripping the door handle, turning it slowly, Gabriel edged the door ever so slightly open. From this angle, he couldn’t see anyone in the room, but he opened it a little further- and there they were.  
Fortunately, their backs were to the three hunters as they silently entered the room, quickly concealing themselves behind a stack of boxes, to monitor the vampires’ movements. They were talking, though none of them could hear what it was about.  
Gabriel’s head snapped to the side when he heard a very audible clicking noise- Garth was loading his gun.  
“What are you doing?” Gabriel hissed.  
“Dead man’s blood bullets.” Garth replied. “There’s no way we can get right up behind them to decapitate them without them noticing, so we must incapacitate them first.”  
To demonstrate, he straightened up, pointed the barrel of his gun through a gap in the crates, and fired. The bullet struck home in the shoulder of the vampire closest to them, and he collapsed on the floor, groaning in agony. The other two were immediately on the defensive, scanning the room to find who shot their brother. In quick succession, Garth fired two more shots, one finding its mark in the vampire’s leg, and the other one hitting the other in his stomach.  
The three vampires lay crumpled on the floor, clutching their injuries in pain, and the three hunters took the opportunity to burst from their hiding places, blades raised.  
The first vampire hauled himself up with great difficulty, intending to fight back- but he was too slow, and Gabriel knew Castiel was savouring every second as he severed the monster's head from its body. The triumphant look in his eyes was at the same time satisfying and terrifying. Garth dispatched the other vampire, and Gabriel was too busy watching his brother delight in his revenge, that he did not notice the third vampire sneaking up behind him, and he was too late to move once he realised.  
A strong arm clamped around his neck, nails digging into his skin, and Gabriel cried out in surprise.  
"Gabe!" Castiel shouted, and surged forward to save his brother.  
Gabriel shook his head at his brother, trying to warn him to get away.  
"Cas...no..." Gabriel tried to speak through the vampire choking him. "Get...out. Run. I'll...catch up. I can...get...out of...this. Go."  
"No. I won't leave you, Gabriel! This monster took my family from me! I won't let it take you away from me, too!"  
"It's...okay. Cas...I'll be...fine." Gabriel managed.  
"Come on, kiddo." Garth laid a firm hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Your brother's right. You need to get out of here. We need to find the others, make sure everyone else is okay. Gabriel will be fine, I'm sure."  
Castiel, with tears threatening to spill, nodded, unable to speak, and ran.


	3. The Oldest Rule

\-- Castiel --  
Gabe.  
Tears were truly streaming down his face now, as he ran, Garth behind him, to find the other hunters who had accompanied them. He had to be okay. He'd get out of there alive, and in one piece. He couldn't lose his brother. He couldn't lose someone he could never replace.  
If Gabriel never made it out of there, it would all be on him.  
It's all my fault.  
Castiel truly wished he'd never brought his family and his friends into this mess. He wished he'd gone alone.  
"Hey, Castiel. There's no point crying about it now. What's done is done. Gabriel will be fine, I'm sure he'll make it out of there. What's important now is finding the others and making sure they're all okay, and that they've got rid of the other vampires. They'll probably need assistance, as there was four of them against seventeen vampires. We need to aid them before we go back to rescue Gabriel."  
Castiel hated every word Garth said, but he knew he was right. He shook his shoulders, gripping his blade tighter, and carried on along the corridor. They were now in the part of the barn that Johnny and Gwen Campbell had been tasked with clearing- but they couldn't see either hunter anywhere.  
"Where are they?" Castiel wondered aloud.  
"I don't know. This is strange. They might be hurt. We need to find them." Garth replied- and at that moment, someone screamed. It wasn't too far from them, and it was a woman's scream- and the voice sounded familiar.  
"Gwen." Garth realised. He set off running towards the source of the scream, Castiel on his heels. They arrived at another door, and without waiting to hear how many vampires there were in the room beyond, they burst through.  
There was blood everywhere. Some of it belonged to the two headless vampires sprawled on the floor- but not all of it was theirs.  
Crumpled in a heap on the floor, blood pouring from an open wound in his neck, was Johnny Campbell. Gwen was hunched over his body, holding his head in her hands, shaking him, as if he was only asleep and she was trying to wake him. She must have known it was useless. Johnny could not have survived a wound that deep, and a considerable loss of blood. But still she tried, she herself shaking with wracking sobs.  
Excluding the two dead vampires on the floor, there were eight vampires left in the room- which meant that the other seven were fighting Rufus and Jo. They were advancing on Gwen- but Garth yelled something unintelligible at them, and they averted their attention from the dead hunter on the floor and its mourner. As the eight vampires closed in on Castiel and Garth, Castiel thought,  
You sons of bitches. This is for my family.  
Without waiting for them to reach him, Castiel ran forward, swinging his blade, not caring where it hit, and he didn’t wait to see where the head fell, as he spun to face another vampire- but there was no vampire there to greet him. The seven vampires still alive in the room were still running, yes- but away from Castiel, not towards him. Before Castiel or Garth could do anything, they crashed through the door the two hunters had just entered through, and they were out of sight. Castiel made to follow them, but a hand gripping the blood-splattered trench coat he wore pulled him back.  
“Not now, Castiel. Gwen needs our help. We need to get Johnny out of here.” Garth said.  
“But we’re letting them get away! I can’t let them get away!”  
“Castiel. We’ll find them again, I promise, but right now that’s not our priority. Come on.”  
Garth knelt beside Gwen, murmuring something to her that Castiel couldn’t hear, but was probably some reassuring nonsense. He felt guilty for thinking it, but right now he didn’t care about helping the Campbells. All he wanted was to chase down the rest of those vampires and butcher them for what they did to his family.  
And find Gabriel. He had to find his brother. He couldn’t leave here without him. Chuck would never forgive him.  
Garth helped Gwen stand up, and lead her towards the door, and Castiel took that as a cue to follow, carefully picked up Johnny’s body in his arms, and carried him out. The literal dead weight in his arms was another reminder to him of his failures.  
I did this. I killed Johnny.  
When they emerged from the barn, the sun was on its way down the sky, turning into late afternoon, and- there were two figures up ahead that weren’t vampires. Upon hearing the door shut behind Castiel, they turned around- Rufus and Jo.  
Rufus limped towards them, carrying Jo in his arms, whose shirt was covered with blood.  
“Jo?” Castiel’s heart became a leaden weight in his chest.  
“She’s alive.” Rufus assured them. “But she’s severely injured. She needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible. I called Ellen, and she’ll come to pick Jo up at the Shurley house in about half an hour- or as soon as she can get there. We had to run, leave the other vampires. We only managed to kill three.”  
“So there’s still twelve vampires left.” Castiel sighed, shifting Johnny’s body in his arms. Rufus stared at Johnny, and Castiel, following his gaze, said in monotone, “He’s dead. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you guys into this.”  
“Hey kid, stop that. That’s just how it is- the oldest rule of hunting- you can’t save everyone. And these vampires aren’t just your business. They refuse to step down, so we have to end them. That’s a responsibility of all hunters.”  
With that, he turned his back and walked on, back to Chuck’s truck, taking care not to jostle Jo. Johnny was heavy in Castiel’s arms, and he tried not to show his discomfort as they slowly made their way back to where the truck was parked. It took them twice as long to walk back, and as they walked, the shadows of the trees around them bent and twisted, and either Castiel was hallucinating- or they seemed to reach out for him. Their thin, pointy fingers, and gnarled arms seemed to grab at him as he walked past, trying to drag him into their depths, to consume him, to punish him. Oh, he wanted to let them take him. He wanted to fade away into the shadows, and never have to face anyone again. He wanted to be nothingness.  
\---  
Throughout the whole journey back, Castiel kept thinking of the body that was covered in a white canvas sheet in the back of the truck. The image was stuck in his mind with superglue and no matter how much he scrubbed at it, it wouldn’t go away.  
Did Heaven exist? Castiel wasn’t sure he’d belong there anymore.  
Castiel’s chest heaved in a sob he tried to supress. Garth reached his hand out to lay it reassuringly on his shoulder, but Castiel shrugged it away, and turned to look out of the window so that nobody could see the tears running down his face.  
Gabriel had driven the truck on the way there, but since he hadn’t returned yet, Rufus had volunteered to drive. And when the Shurley home finally came back into view, it was too soon. Castiel wasn’t ready to face his family again.  
When the truck ground to a halt in the driveway, Garth got out from his side and helped Gwen down, bringing her inside the house, and Rufus went around the back of the truck to carry Johnny’s body inside. Castiel stayed in the car for a few moments more- and then, mustering what shreds of strength he had left, he opened his door and stepped out. The front door was open, and somebody was walking towards him- but he couldn’t see who it was through the tears blurring his vision. When Chuck wrapped his arms around his adopted son, and led him inside, Castiel couldn’t stop himself as he began to properly cry.  
They’d made it only a few steps into the kitchen when Michael said,  
“Hey, where’s Gabriel?”  
Chuck stiffened, and Castiel extricated himself from his grip. He could only look at the floor as he said,  
“He’s gone.”  
“What do you mean, he’s gone?” Michael demanded.  
“I said, he’s gone. The vampires took him. I don’t know where he is, if he’s even still alive. He could be dead- or worse. I don’t know where he is and this is all my fault. He said he would catch up, but he hasn’t.”  
“Gabriel is strong and brave, and intelligent. I know he’ll get out of it. He’ll come home soon.” Amara tried to reassure Castiel- and he knew she was trying to reassure herself too. In the silence that followed her words, was the unspoken that nobody wanted to hear.  
“Well. Gabriel will come home soon, I know it.” Chuck spoke up, breaking the silence, trying to relieve the tension in the room that had rocketed. “We should hold a funeral for Johnny. Castiel, why don’t you help Michael and Raphael build a pyre?”  
Castiel followed his two older brothers in clockwork movements, not really paying attention to what he was doing, and went to and fro from their firewood pile carrying logs, handing them to his two older brothers, not speaking a word.  
And when Ellen arrived to take Jo to hospital, she yelled at Jo for endangering herself and she yelled at Chuck for letting her go along, and she yelled at Rufus for not protecting her daughter, and she stormed from the house with her daughter cradled gently in her arms. She didn’t yell at Castiel because he was nowhere to be seen.  
He sat on the floor of his bedroom, his back to the door. He kept hearing his brother’s footsteps walking down the corridor, and kept waiting to hear Gabriel call out to him to come out and join the family, and he could almost taste the cherry lollipop that his brother would have given him. And when someone finally did come down the corridor to fetch him for Johnny's funeral, he knew it wasn't Gabriel, but he wished with all his heart that it was.  
The whole ceremony was very solemn. Each hunter gathered around the pyre, with Johnny’s wrapped body atop it, and each hunter said a few words, none of which Castiel heard through the haze in his mind. Castiel was the last in the line, and when came his turn to speak, he found his tongue had been glued to the roof of his mouth.  
I’m so, so sorry, Johnny. This is all my fault. Please forgive me. You didn’t deserve this- you didn’t deserve to die today.  
It should’ve been me in your place.  
The unspoken apologies and confession echoed through his head, but he could not bring himself to voice them, instead he stood with his hands folded in front of him, his mouth opening and closing with each breath like a fish out of water. He just couldn’t speak.  
His sister Hannah and his brother Balthazar came to stand on either side of him, and both wrapped their arms tight around him, while he stood staring at the pyre. The other hunters waited a few moments, and when it became clear that Castiel wouldn’t say anything, Rufus handed a burning torch to Gwen, who slowly lowered it to Johnny’s body, all the while her tears never ceasing.  
“Goodbye Johnny.” Castiel could barely hear Gwen’s whisper as her kin’s body was set alight.  
\---  
Long after Rufus, Gwen and Garth had departed, the Shurleys sat together around the dining table, bare of plates and food. Just like Castiel’s, it seemed everybody’s appetites had vanished after what had happened today. The sun was rapidly setting, the ground outside washed with a fiery orange light.  
And still, Gabriel hadn’t returned.  
Castiel was anything but still. His restless fingers tapped out whatever random rhythm came to mind, and his legs bounced, his feet tapping the floor.  
“Will you please be still, Castiel?” Raphael demanded, clearly growing impatient with Castiel’s constant movements.  
Castiel let out a long sigh, and slumped down in his chair. “Please, Dad, just let me go after him. He can’t have gone far. Please. It’s my responsibility.”  
“No, Castiel. It’s not just your responsibility anymore. He’s my son. I must find him.”  
“He’s my brother. And I endangered him and everyone else, so I bear the blame for the events of today, for Johnny’s death, for Gabe’s disappearance. I should go out and look for him. Everyone else needs you here, Dad. I can find the vampires and rescue Gabriel, or die trying.”  
“Castiel. Is that really what you think- that you’re not needed?” Castiel didn’t even need to nod, for Chuck to realise. “Why in God’s name do you think I adopted you? You’re my son, too. We’re all family. We all need you- we all need each other, because each other’s all we’ve got.”


	4. Please Don't Hunt Me Down, Brother

\-- Gabriel --  
It hurt. Everything hurt.  
By as much as he could see from his position on the floor, it looked like he was still in the same barn they’d all found the vampires in. There were no sounds of fighting from the rooms nearby, which meant all the other hunters must have left, Castiel included. There were twelve vampires surrounding him in this room- which meant that the other hunters had only managed to kill eight of them. So Castiel still hadn’t properly got his revenge, and now his brother had been captured.  
Gabriel knew that, back at the Shurley house where Cas would be right now, his younger adopted brother would be alone in his bedroom, or he’d be with the rest of the family, but silent and trying not to cry. Castiel would blame all of today’s events on himself, and Gabriel wished so badly that he could be there to comfort him and reassure him that he, Gabriel, did not blame his brother one bit.  
I should’ve been more careful. I was stupid. My capture is my fault.  
Even if- no, even when Gabriel got out, and returned home, he knew that Castiel still wouldn’t forgive himself, even if Gabriel did.  
Slowly, quietly, as subtly as he could, Gabriel reached a hand inside his jacket, his fingers closing around a syringe, full of dead man’s blood. He brought it out, the point poised to strike, and when one of the vampires stepped closer to him, he rolled over, using the momentum of the roll to push himself up off the floor, and jammed the syringe deep into the vampire’s neck, pressing hard down on the plunger. The vampire cried out in pain, and Gabriel took the opportunity to pull free a spare blade from inside his jacket and swing it at the incapacitated vampire. The head severed cleanly from the body, and Gabriel spun on his heel to face the next vampire- but a hard blow to the back of his head sent him sprawling on the floor again. His blade was kicked from his grip, and the remaining syringes of dead man’s blood that he had were crushed under the unforgiving boots of the eleven remaining monsters.  
“You can’t keep me here for long. My family will come back and find me, and they’ll kill you all!”  
“Where is your family? I don’t see them anywhere.” Sneered the vampire standing closest to Gabriel, who then moved her foot to rest it on his chest.  
Gabriel struggled, trying to twist away from her, but she pushed her shoe down hard on his chest, knocking the air out of him. “You’re staying right here, hunter. We can’t let you get away after you killed our brothers and sisters. Alex, what shall we do with him?”  
The tall vampire with the messy, sandy-coloured hair, supposedly Alex, and probably the leader of the nest, had a cold, emotionless expression on his face as he said,  
“Turn him.”  
Turn him.  
If he couldn’t get out of here now, he’d never get out. Gabriel struggled again under the vampire’s boot, raising his arms to try and push her off, but three other vampires surged forward to grab him by the arms and haul him up.  
The vampire called Alex stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with malice. He jerked his head in the direction of the female vampire who’d held Gabriel down a moment ago with her battered black combat boots.  
“Kate. Would you like to do the honours?”  
Kate, the vampire with the combat boots, grinned. “Are you sure you don’t want to?”  
“Oh, no, he’s all yours.”  
“Thank you. I shall enjoy this immensely.” Kate stepped up further to Gabriel, sneering at him. “I enjoyed ripping out the throats of that poor man and woman sixteen years ago- I assume your blue-eyed brother came here to kill me in revenge for that. Well it’s too bad he couldn’t avenge them. And he’ll never forgive himself once he discovers he couldn’t save you either. You’re a lost cause. Give up now, and succumb to the dark side.”  
Without waiting for an answer, Kate drew a small knife from her belt and ran it across her forearm, a fine line of blood seeping out. She held out her wound across Gabriel’s face, squeezing the cut, angling it so that every drop fell into Gabriel’s mouth.  
It’s too late now.  
Gabriel swallowed, feeling every moment as the vampire blood was ingested. For a few moments, there was silence, and utter stillness, as all the vamps surrounding him watched.  
Then, he was struck by a pain so intense he doubled over, choking, and the vampires holding him let go, letting him fall to the floor. He tried to grasp onto something, something to squeeze to try and alleviate the pain, but there was nothing but the concrete floor. Gabriel tried everything he could, but he couldn’t stop the scream of pain as the fangs pushed through his gums and out.  
The presence of this new set of razor sharp teeth was so unfamiliar, and uncomfortable, but no matter how hard Gabriel concentrated, he couldn’t seem to make them retract. And it wasn’t just the new fangs, but everything- his senses, his heart rate, his breathing- seemed enhanced, so much so that it threw him completely off-balance, and he stumbled as he tried to get to his feet.  
Finally standing again, he stared round at all the other vampires, who were watching him intently, as an experimenter might watch their subjects. Kate, the one who turned him- his maker- was grinning at him, as if admiring her handiwork.  
"Feel hungry yet?"  
"No." Gabriel answered her, gritting his teeth, trying to keep from snarling at her. "And I won't feed. I refuse to feed."  
"Oho!" Kate let out a loud, guffawing, laugh. "Oh, how naive! You won't be able to resist the bloodlust for long. And you will feed, and if we have to force you, then so be it."  
"I don't care. However much you try to force me, I will not feed."  
"Shut the hell up." Alex growled. "You're one of us now, and one way or another, you will feed. Now, come, everyone. The hunters will be back at some point. We need to move and find another nest."  
\---  
Alex roughly yanked Gabriel from one of the trucks the vampires owned, and hauled him along an uneven dirt track. He'd shoved a cloth bag over his head, so he couldn't see where they were going, and he was still restricted from seeing, so he could only guess. From what he could hear and feel around him, it felt like they were walking through a deep forest. It wasn't long before Alex came to a halt, and Gabriel could hear him fiddling around with something, that sounded like a door, while Kate kept him from escaping. He stumbled as they pulled him forward again, inside a building, and finally took the bag off his head.  
He was in a small, cozy-looking log cabin, the remainders of a coal fire settling in the hearth across the room, and several armchairs stationed near the fireplace, along with a kitchen area in one corner. There were two more doors in the room- one was slightly ajar, and through it Gabriel could see a bathroom with a bathtub- and there was a sickening amount of dried blood crusted on the chipped white enamel of the tub- the vampires must have used this place before. Kate dragged him to the other room though, which turned out to be a small bedroom, with the two small beds with their threadbare blankets pushed to the side, and a wooden chair in the middle of the floor. When he looked closer, Gabriel could see that the chair legs had been nailed into the floor. Kate and Alex wrestled him forwards into the chair, and two other vampires helped strap his arms and legs to it.  
"What are you doing? Get off me!" Gabriel struggled violently, trying to throw them off- but it was too late, and he was trussed up like a chicken.  
"Now, listen to me carefully. You're going to feed, or you're going to stay here and you'll starve." Alex snapped.  
"Fine. I'll starve."  
"Suit yourself."  
The door slammed shut behind the vampires as they walked out.  
\---  
For that first whole night, Gabriel sat in the chair in silence, alone in the cluttered bedroom. He couldn't even slump down in the chair to get into a more comfortable position. He tried not to cry in frustration. He couldn't even sleep properly, as he realised, that now he was a vampire, he didn't really need to sleep. There was a window in this bedroom, and through the grimy glass he could see it was night time, and he didn't feel tired.  
He refused to feed. He would not feed. But he couldn't admit, at least to the other vampires, that he was hungry. He could feel the bloodlust thrumming in his veins, and his mouth felt dry. This was only his first day as a vampire. He had no idea how he would manage to starve himself for however long it took his family to find him and rescue him.  
But, he realised, even when they did find him eventually, what would he do then? As far as the Shurleys knew, vampirism was incurable. Maybe there was a cure out there, but it was probably complicated and unreliable.  
Gabriel didn't know how he would live with himself. How he would face Castiel, and the rest of his family. If he did return to the Shurley home, how would he be able to look his father in the eye and admit that he failed?  
\---  
None of the vampires visited Gabriel in the night, and the next morning, when the sun was seeping in through the dirt on the filthy windows, irritating him a little, the door opened, and Kate sauntered in, fresh blood dripping down her chin that she hadn't bothered to wipe away, and there were splatters of it on her combat boots, that she hadn't concerned herself with washing off. Behind her, another vampire that Gabriel didn't know the name of, followed, dragging a limp body behind him. The unfortunate young girl was not dead- she couldn't have been, because dead blood was toxic to them (unless the vampires wanted to torture Gabriel)- but she was unconscious, no doubt from blood loss. It didn't look like she'd last much longer. Kate snatched the girl away from the other vampire, whom she dismissed, and threw her to the floor in front of Gabriel.  
"Here. We've given you the courtesy of catching your first meal for you. I'll untie your bonds, and you will feed, is that clear?"  
"No. I will not feed. I already said. You can't force me. I will keep saying this. I will not feed."  
Kate reached into her pocket, and when she drew out her hand, she was holding a syringe of something dark and red.  
Dead man's blood.  
"You're not really going to make me do this, are you?" she sneered, crouching down, her eyes level with Gabriel's.  
"I. Will. Not. Feed." Gabriel hissed, gritting his teeth so hard if he did it any harder he'd wear them down completely, and concentrating hard not to let his fangs snap down, as the smell of the blood on the girl in front of him was tempting, oh so tempting.  
"So be it." Kate muttered, and pulled off the piece of rubber on the needle. She brought the needle point to Gabriel's neck, just so it barely grazed his skin. Her face was right in his and this close, he could smell the blood on her amplified- and he couldn't help it as his fangs shot out. She grinned. "We could do it the easy way, or the hard way. No? Well I'll tell you one thing, this is only the beginning. If you continue to refuse, Alex will do a lot worse to you. It would be easier to just give in to the bloodlust!"  
But still Gabriel refused, and Kate just shrugged, ramming the needle into his neck and pressing down hard on the plunger, and he cried out. His hands had curled into tight fights, and he was clenching them so hard he was sure his bones would break, or his muscles would snap.  
Cas, where are you? Help me!  
Kate was still hovering close to Gabriel's head, and so he did the only thing he could. He pulled his head back a little, and then slammed it hard into Kate's face. He could hear every decibel of her nose breaking.  
Blood gushed from it, and some of it fell into Gabriel's mouth.  
He spat it out.  
Kate grunted in pain, and hurriedly left the room, dragging the unconscious, drained girl after her.  
\---  
Over the next three days, Kate brought in several victims, cut them in front of him, let the delicious scent of their blood waft up to him. She watched with delight as his fangs snapped down every time, but she growled at him every time he managed to control himself and retract them.  
At dawn on the fourth day, it wasn't Kate that strode into the room, but Alex.  
"New vampires always have trouble with controlling their hunger, and it isn't uncommon that some do refuse to feed for a little while. But this is getting ridiculous. Since you refuse to comply, refuse to feed on any victim, I now have to resort to a very particular victim. You are going to go out there, and you are going to capture somebody. You are going to feed on them, and then you are going to turn them."  
"And who would you have me capture?" Gabriel answered, sarcastically, earning him a slap round the face.  
"Your brother, Castiel, no less."  
This caught him completely off guard, but he had no time to react as two more vampires entered the room, untied his bonds, and dragged him by the arms out, out of the hut.  
"But the sun's rising." Gabriel protested.  
"So what? It won't kill you." One of the vampires answered. They didn't say another word as they shoved Gabriel unceremoniously into the cabin of one of the trucks, and set off through the woods.  
The truck pulled up at the Shurley house, and the world was silent outside, wildlife just beginning to awaken. But Gabriel's family wouldn't be awake for another few hours.  
The vampire riding shotgun leapt out of his side of the car.  
"Watch him, Gordon." The vampire in the driver seat called out.  
The vampire named Gordon pulled Gabriel out from his seat, and lugged him towards the house.  
"Get in there, get your brother, and get the hell out. If you wake up anybody, you will pay for it with your brother's life."  
Castiel's room was facing them, his curtains drawn, but Gabriel knew which one it was. He could- probably- easily run for the main door and wake the whole house, but with the two vampires watching him, that was risky. The windows to Castiel's bedroom were old and creaky, but after a little tugging, Gabriel pulled one up, and slipped through.  
\-- Castiel --  
Castiel was fast asleep. It was a miracle he'd managed to sleep at all, considering Gabriel had been missing for almost four days now. His nightmares were full of his brother- dead, or turned, or bleeding heavily. Sometimes, he even dreamed that his brother was standing over him in his bedroom, as if he was about to kidnap him-  
Wait. This is not a nightmare. This is not a dream.  
Castiel's eyes flew open just as his brother clamped an arm onto his shoulder, and one on his mouth, silencing him.


	5. The Kids Are Alright

\-- Dean --  
The pounding headache from yet another hangover only allowed Dean a few hours of sleep last night. When it finally occurred to him that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, he hauled himself out of bed, trying not to knock over the empty beer bottles on his night stand and disturb his younger brother Sam who slept in the bed next to him. He exited the quiet bedroom, deciding that four hours’ sleep was enough, and ventured down to the kitchen to find some coffee. It couldn’t have been later than six o’clock in the morning.  
He and his brother were staying at the house of their hunter friend Bobby Singer. Well, he was more like a father to them than just a friend- having looked after them many times as children while their real father was out hunting, and once their father died, he carried on taking care of them.  
Dean stumbled on the last step downstairs, his body heavy with lack of sleep and exhaustion, and almost fell over, but righted himself just in time. The kitchen was dark and empty, with Bobby also still asleep. Dean fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on, squinting hard against the sudden bright light for a few moments. He walked over to the kitchen cupboards, looking for the coffee powder, and found a jar, with only enough for one cup left.  
“Dammit.” He muttered, and filled up the kettle, setting it to boil on the stove, while he fished out a mug from another cupboard and tipped in the remaining coffee powder.  
With his steaming mug of coffee almost burning his hands through the ceramic, he flopped down onto a chair at the table, and opened his laptop, to check the news for any new cases.  
A new headline glared out at him from one of the online news sites:  
BIZARRE DEATHS IN SMALL OKLAHOMA SCHOOL LEAVE LOCAL OFFICIALS BEWILDERED.  
He clicked on the article, and skimmed through it.  
Students at a small elementary school in Oklahoma have been found drowned in the school basement…  
…the children had scratch marks on their bodies, seemingly made by animal claws, but no animals have been spotted on the campus…  
…there have been three bodies…  
…coroners at the local hospital state the official cause of death for each victim was drowning, but they have no idea who- or what- did it…  
“What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?” Bobby grumbled, walking into the kitchen.  
“Oh, hey, Bobby. I couldn’t sleep. And we’re out of coffee. I should go out and buy some more. And we’re out of pie, too.”  
“You and your pie, Dean. You idjits come and live in my home, use up my water, and now my coffee.” Bobby grumbled good-naturedly at Dean.  
“It’s okay, Bobby, I’ll go and buy some more. And I found us a new case. Kids in Oklahoma elementary school found drowned in the school basement, covered in claw marks.”  
“Werewolves?”  
“Nope. Hearts were still there, as far as I know. They were drowned. I’m sure we’ve come across something like this before.”  
“I’ll have a look into the lore while you go out and buy us some more damn coffee.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Shut up, idjit.”  
\---  
Out in Bobby’s vast front yard, which doubled as Singer’s Salvage Yard, Dean retrieved his black ’67 Chevy Impala, one of his most prized possessions, nicknamed ‘Baby’ by him.  
“Good morning, Baby.” He said, patting her bonnet. “Let’s go get some coffee, or Bobby will bite my head off.”  
The engine roared to life, and within seconds he was speeding out of Bobby’s driveway, onto the road again.  
Dean stopped at a gas station in Sioux Falls, where Bobby’s house was located, to top up Baby’s fuel, and buy their provisions. There was plenty of coffee in the shop, so he picked up several jars, and a few other random bits of food- and went to find the pie. There was a stand at the counter with a large label that read ‘PIE’- but no pie on the stand.  
“Where’s your pie?”  
“Sorry, mate. We’re out of pie.” The man behind the counter, looking very bored, replied.  
Dean leaned over the counter, depositing his goods in the basket on the floor, and grabbed the man’s collar,  
“But you don’t understand, I need pie.”  
“I said, we don’t have any more! We ran out!”  
But Dean was prevented from replying further, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He hauled up the shopping basket onto the counter, and the shop assistant began adding up the prices, as Dean answered his phone.  
“Bobby? What you got?”  
“Alright, Dean, I know what you’ve got down in Oklahoma. You’re right, you have dealt with this before. It’s a rawhead.”  
“A rawhead? Right, I remember them.” Dean glanced at the shop assistant, who gave him a strange look, and he quickly paid, and lugged the shopping bags from the gas station, and deposited them in Baby’s back seat. “They’re those things that go after children. Electrocution, to gank them, right?”  
“Yeah. But be careful this time, idjit, don’t get yourself almost killed again.”  
“Right, I will. I’ve got the stuff, I’m on my way back now. Is Sam up yet?”  
“I heard the tap going upstairs, so I suppose he is.”  
“Alright. Well tell him I’m on way back, and then we’re going back out again- tell him to get ready to leave.”  
“I’m not his mother. Do it yourself, idjit.” And Bobby hung up.  
Dean smiled to himself as he started the engine, and Baby rolled out of the gas station, back towards Bobby’s house. Something occurred to him, and he picked up his phone, and dialled the number of the Harvelle’s Roadhouse. Ellen Harvelle picked up,  
“Who’s this?”  
“Oh, hi Ellen.”  
“Dean. What are you calling for?”  
“Is Jo there? Me and Sam have got another hunt, and I was- I was wondering if she’d like to accompany us.”  
Dammit, Dean. Ellen’s not a fool.  
“Jo? No, she’s not available. She was on hunt for the Shurleys a few days ago, and she’s still in hospital.” Dean could hear the anger towards her daughter in Ellen’s voice, for getting herself hurt.  
“Oh- okay. Well, I, er- I hope she gets better-”  
“Cut the crap, Dean. I know you’re just trying to ask her out. Give up, you’re not coming anywhere near my daughter. She almost died a few days ago.”  
Ellen hung up, and Dean slowly lowered his phone, giving a short whistle. Ellen never ceased to amaze him, with her fiery temper, and fierce overprotectiveness of her daughter.  
When Dean returned to Bobby’s house, Sam was sitting at the kitchen table, dressed, eating breakfast. Dean dumped the bags of supplies on the kitchen table, ignoring the glare from Sam, and set the kettle to boil on the stove for another cup of coffee.  
“Sam, did you get the message?”  
“Yeah, we got a case in Oklahoma. Rawhead, right?”  
“Yeah. Bobby?” Dean said, noticing Bobby enter the kitchen.  
“What?”  
“Who are the Shurleys?”  
“They’re another family of hunters. Why?”  
“Oh, nothing. I heard about them in passing conversation with another hunter.”  
“Hmph. The Shurley family’s got a load of business on their hands right now, hunting down a nest of vampires that killed the parents of one of their adopted children. Boy named Castiel. His family were killed when he was four, and Chuck Shurley took him in.”  
“Do they need any assistance?”  
“No, I think they’ve got it handled. But I’m sure they’ll call if they need any backup.”  
"Great. You ready to leave, Sam?"  
"Nearly. I've got a bag packed of weapons. I'll just finish my food, and then we'll go."  
\---  
The drive to the small Oklahoma town was a long and arduous one, and through it all as he drove, Dean played over and over the same albums of classic rock that he had on tape in the Impala. It must have been only halfway through the journey, and Dean could already tell Sam was getting bored of the music.  
“C’mon, Sammy.” Dean said, patting his brother on the leg, who glared at him. “Enjoy it! This is the best music.”  
“Don’t you ever get bored of playing the same album over and over again?”  
“Nope. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”  
Sam let out a sigh, and slumped down in his seat, staring out of the window at the steadily darkening sky.  
They arrived in the town in the late evening, and booked into the closest motel. Once they'd deposited the few belongings they carried with them, Dean flopped down onto his bed, throwing an arm over his eyes, groaning with the persistent headache.  
"Still got that hangover headache?" Sam asked, looking bemused at Dean, trying not to laugh.  
"Shut up Sam." Dean muttered, throwing a pillow at Sam, but missing the shot widely.  
"So." Sam began, with a tone of business in his voice. "We're dealing with a rawhead, for certain. We're one step ahead already, so we've no need to visit the morgues to inspect the bodies. I think we should still go over to the school during the day tomorrow and find out more about what happened here."  
"Sure thing, boss."  
"Are you hungry, Dean? I'm gonna go out and find some food."  
"Great, you can get me some pie!"  
\---  
The next morning, Sam and Dean set out in the Impala, dressed in their FBI suits, to the school. Dean set off to talk to the teachers, and the member of staff who'd found the bodies, while Sam gently questioned the children.  
"Agent Ackles." he introduced himself to the head teacher, flashing his fake FBI badge, and gestured to where Sam was speaking to a small group of children. "And that's my partner, Agent Padalecki. We're here about the drowned children."  
The head teacher, a sweet-looking middle-aged woman, with her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a neat bun, raised an eyebrow,  
"Why is the FBI involved with this? This was thought to be an animal attack."  
"The coroners know the cause of death, yes, but they have no idea what- or who- did it. We suspect there could be foul play."  
"But who would want to kill children? I knew those three children very well, they were so sweet and well-behaved. All of the students and staff here loved them. I don't understand why anyone would want them dead."  
Dean awkwardly laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes people do this with no reason. Sometimes the victims are chosen randomly, even if they're good people, and have no enemies. Don't worry, Ms, we'll find the culprit, and they'll pay."  
The headteacher sniffed, and nodded. "Thank you."  
Dean stood there for a moment, unsure of whether it was okay to move away now. The teacher sure was pretty...  
"Don't you have other people to talk to?" She said.  
"Right. Yes. Who was it who found the bodies?"  
"The caretaker, Marv. He's over there." The headteacher pointed, and Dean thanked her and moved on.  
"Marv, right?" Dean flashed his badge to the caretaker. "Agent Ackles. The headteacher told me you were the one who found the children's bodies in the basement."  
Marv was a fairly short man, with curly and dark, but greying hair, and a somewhat grizzly beard. He looked as if he always drank too much alcohol.  
"That's right, Agent. I went down to the basement to get my cleaning supplies at the end of the first day, and found one of the kindergarten children face down in one of my cleaning buckets, drowned. The second day, I found the other two."  
"Have you any idea what could have done it?"  
"What? Frankly, I have no idea. The local officers can't even figure it out."  
"That's what my partner and I are here to find out."  
"Dean." Sam now stood behind Dean, waiting for him to finish his conversation. When Dean turned around, he indicated to follow him, away from eavesdroppers. "So I talked to some of the kindergarteners who knew the victims. They told me that the day the victims died, their friends had been acting a bit strange, saying they kept seeing an old man out of the corner of their eye- and that he had been calling to them, calling them naughty children. Even though, their friends insisted, they'd done nothing wrong."  
"Sounds like a rawhead. I say we come back tonight when the place is closed, to gank this bitch."  
\---  
For a large part of the remainder of the day, while waiting for sundown, Dean passed his time in a local bar, drinking beer and eyeing the barmaids. As he surveyed the room, looking to see if he could find anyone to pick up for the night, a young man sitting alone at a table caught his eye. He had his hands wrapped around a glass of something, and kept casting furtive glances towards Dean. As he shifted slightly in his seat, his sleeve pulled back a little to reveal a tattoo- of a pentacle. Was that guy a witch?  
Dean pushed up off his seat, striding purposefully towards the man, who drained his glass and then stood to meet Dean.  
"Who are you?"  
"Dean Winchester, right?"  
"Who are you?" Dean repeated, more sternly.  
"My name is Rowan. I've come about you, though."  
"You're a witch, aren't you." It wasn't so much a question as a conformation. Rowan didn't deny it. "How did you find me? And why are you here?"  
"I'm a witch- a very powerful one. I've been alive for almost three hundred years. Tracking one of the most notorious hunters in the States is an easy feat for me. When I was a young man, having recently discovered I possessed a powerful gift of magic, I was trained by the Grand Coven, and they trained me as  Seer. I've come with a warning."  
"What warning?" Dean asked, skeptical.  
"You're going to die."  
"What?"  
"I have seen in my visions, a young vampire with brown hair and a sweet tooth, standing over your body, drained of blood."  
"What's so important about that? It's one vampire, I could easily take him down. I don't get what's so important that you had to stalk me to come and tell me this?"  
"That's just the start of it. You could die by the hands of this vampire, but there's a failsafe- if you find a young hunter with black hair and blue eyes, you can save the vampire and yourself."  
"Okay...but I still don't get what's so important."  
"Dean Winchester, you are going to help heal a great family rift. Watch your steps, is all I'm saying- if something goes wrong, you could screw it up royally."  
"Uh, okay-" Dean was prevented from replying further by the ringing of his phone- Sam. "I gotta go."  
But the witch was already gone.  
\---  
Well after sunset, Dean and Sam crept back into the school. Dean hadn't brought the duffel bag of weapons with them- this hunt was a piece of cake- or rather, a slice of pie- and all they needed were tasers.  
The corridors were deserted as they made their way to the basement, which they had scouted out earlier in the day when they were visiting as FBI. There was a slight chill in the air- but no cold spots. The basement door was locked, as expected, but Sam made quick work of it. The door swung open, protesting with loud creaks, but as they waited a few moments, nobody rushed to find them. The whole school was deserted-  
Or so they thought.  
There was a faint crash from downstairs- down in the basement.  
Dean thundered down the steps, Sam following close behind, and there, in the corner of the room, leaning over an overturned metal bucket, was Marv the caretaker.  
He turned around when he heard them approach, and his face composed itself to neutral- but Dean caught the guilty look before it faded.  
"Marv? Surely your work for the day is done. Why are you here?"  
"I could ask the same thing of you, Agents."  
"We're following on with our investigation, if you don't mind. Now, don't get in our way, or-"  
"Dean." Sam warned.  
That was when Dean noticed the rawhead standing patiently behind Marv. He looked back at the caretaker.  
"Are you controlling the rawhead?"  
"So you're not FBI after all. You're hunters. I knew someone would catch onto me eventually. I didn't expect it to be this soon."  
"Why the hell are you using this monster to kill innocent children?"  
"Innocent. Children are pesky little things. I hate them."  
"That's your motive?" Dean laughed. "You're pathetic. Call off your monster, before anyone else gets killed."  
"No."  
Sam didn't waste any time as Dean tackled Marv, and Sam went for the rawhead. It darted away from him, but Sam aimed his taser, and shocked it. The rawhead exploded into a puddle of visceral goo.  
Dean had thrown several punches at Marv, and now, with the caretaker's face bleeding, Dean hissed,  
"Get the hell out of here. You're lucky we didn't kill you. If we find you're doing this again, we will kill you."  
Marv hurriedly picked himself up and fled from the basement.  
"Idiot." Dean muttered, and his phone began ringing again. This time it was Bobby.  
"Got a call from Bobby, Sam."  
Sam raised his eyebrows. Dean answered the call.  
"Bobby, what's up? We got rid of the rawhead, some idiot guy was controlling-"  
"Dean, listen to me." Bobby's voice was urgent.  
"Bobby? What's the matter?"  
"Remember the Shurley family I mentioned?"  
"Yeah, what about them?"  
"Well they've got a crisis right now, and they need backup. Two of their sons have gone missing. I told Chuck you'd help."  
"Where do they live?"  
"Kansas. I'll text you the address."  
"Okay. We're on our way."


	6. From Bad To A Thousand Times Worse

\-- Sam --

Sam sat silent all throughout the long car journey up to Kansas. Bobby had texted Dean the Shurleys' address, and they were in an isolated area- a large house in the middle of some plains, but close to a forest.

It was early in the morning when they pulled up in the Shurleys' driveway. All was quiet- the few night birds that called out were distant, and there were no sounds coming from inside the house.

"Dean, maybe we should wait. They'll all be asleep right now, we shouldn't disturb them."

"No, let's go now. They called us in an emergency, that means they need our help as soon as possible. The sooner we can get on this hunt, the sooner we can find these hunters."

Sam didn't argue as Dean stepped out of the Impala, and up to the front door of the house. Sam followed, and knocked on the door.

It was a few moments before somebody answered- a man with messy brown hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a white night shirt and an old dressing gown, opened the door.

"Chuck Shurley?" Sam inquired.

"That's me. I assume you're the Winchesters?"

"Yeah, that's us. I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean." Sam held out his hand, and Chuck shook it briefly, and invited them in.

 

"So what has Bobby told you?" Chuck asked as he indicated to them to sit down in the kitchen, as he pulled up his own chair.

"Not much." Sam replied. "We know that two of your sons have gone missing, it's got something to do with some vampires you're hunting?"

"The vamps killed the real parents of one of your sons, didn't they? His name's Castiel?" Dean interjected. Chuck nodded. "Who's the other son?"

"Gabriel, and he is one of my four biological sons- Castiel is among six adopted children. Castiel took Gabriel and some other hunters a few days ago to hunt down these vampires, and he came back four days ago without Gabriel. We've searched for four days, and we haven't found Gabriel, so we know that he has been captured by the vampires, and as time goes by it's increasingly likely that my son has been turned. Then Castiel disappeared last night. He wasn't in his bedroom this morning, and he left no note- and his window was wide open, and his bedsheets were in a mess on the floor, as if there had been a bit of a struggle. My best guess is he's been captured by the same vampires who took Gabriel- maybe even by Gabriel himself. I need your help, Winchesters, to get them back."

Beside Sam, Dean sat up slightly, and asked, "What do they look like, Castiel and Gabriel?"

"Gabriel has light brown hair and brown eyes, Castiel has black hair and blue eyes."

Sam felt Dean stiffen slightly beside him, but he didn't ask why. Instead, he turned to Chuck, "When do you want us to set off?"

"As soon as possible. You'll be going with my other two biological sons, and a couple of my adopted children."

"Two biological sons- I thought you said you had four?" Dean interrupted. Sam nudged Dean with his elbow. "Ouch!"

"My eldest son, Lucifer, left the family ten years ago. It's just Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Excluding Castiel, my other adopted children are Hannah, Anna, Balthazar, Bartholomew and Malachi. Balthazar and Hannah are coming with you today."

It was almost as if Chuck had summoned them- the next moment, a young woman with soft brown eyes and brown hair to her shoulders wandered into the kitchen, already fully dressed. Following shortly after her, a taller young man with short blonde hair walked in, dressed, but a couple of buttons on his shirt lay undone, as if he'd dressed in a hurry and hadn't bothered to do up all the buttons.

The girl stopped in front of Sam and held out her hand. Sam obliged.

"Hannah Shurley." She smiled at him.

"Sam Winchester." He smiled back, and turned to the blonde-haired man. "Balthazar?"

"Yes, that is I. Where are Michael and Raphael?" Balthazar asked.

"They're already up. In the shed, gathering equipment." Chuck stood up from his seat, and shook hands with Sam and Dean once more before turning away. "Bring my sons back."

As he and Dean followed Hannah and Balthazar out of the house and around the side to meet Michael and Raphael, Sam wondered about the family. He'd never met such a large family of hunters. And one that adopted unfortunately orphaned children, too. He supposed he and Dean were lucky that they had Bobby once John had died. They were lucky that John had been strong when Mary was killed by that demon. For all the hunters out there in the world, they were pretty lucky to have the family they did.

Sam and Dean returned to the Impala, while the Shurley hunters drove their own car, a beat-up truck. Leaning out of his window in the shotgun seat, Sam called to Michael, who sat in the driver seat of the truck,  
"Where do we start looking?"

Michael glanced at Sam, and replied, "Well, I think it's worth checking the barn they were first found in. We've also received info on a small old run-down cabin in the woods where they could also be hiding."

Dean was silent for the whole drive to the barn, and twice Sam asked him if something was wrong, and twice Dean ignored him. Sam gave up, and turned back to watching out of the window. The path became more rough and bumpy as they approached a copse of trees, and a few moments later, Dean halted, as the Shurley's truck in front of them halted.

Without a word, Dean opened his door and climbed out of the car, firmly shutting it after him. Sam got out of his side of the car just after Dean, and went around to the back of the Impala, opening up the boot to find their weapons. He pulled out a machete, and pocketed a few syringes of dead man's blood, and walked over to join the Shurleys.

"What plan of action do you suggest, Michael?" Sam asked the oldest Shurley brother present.

"I think we should scout out the area first, make sure there's no vamps stationed around the outside to catch us by surprise. Then, I suggest we split into two groups to search inside the barn."

"Sounds good. C'mon Sammy." Dean strode off to scout the barn, and, after a moment's hesitation, Sam followed him.

Apart from the rustling of the leaves beneath their feet as they walked, the whole area was silent. Sam crept up against the wall of the barn as they neared one corner, and slowly poked his head around the corner, expecting to see a vamp or two strolling on their guard- but there was no one. He straightened up and turned the corner- and then the other corner. No one.

"Dean. I don't think they're here. There's no one guarding outside. Not one. They must have moved the nest."

"We should check inside, just to be sure." Dean replied, and slipped through the door that Michael left open as he entered with the other Shurley hunters.

Sam was the last to enter the barn, and looked carefully behind him to make sure no one was secretly following them- and then averted his attention to back inside the barn. The room they were in was completely empty. When they all stood still together for a moment, to listen for any sounds coming from the other rooms of the barn, there was again nothing.

"Come out, you filthy bloodsuckers!" Dean yelled, out of the blue.

"Dean!" Sam hissed, glaring at his brother.

Dean gave Sam a pointed look, and made a point of waiting for a few moments- and no response to his call.

Hannah and Balthazar had disappeared into the next room while Dean was yelling, and had rushed hurriedly back in.

"What's going on?" Hannah asked. "What was that racket about?"

"This barn is deserted, I'm telling you. Did you find anything in those rooms?"

"No vamps." Hannah rested a hand on her hip. "But we haven't checked all the rooms. If there were vamps here, you've just alerted them to our presence."

"Well, but there's no-"

"Shut up, Dean." Sam sighed. "Let's just go check the rest of the rooms."

It barely took ten minutes to search the rest of the barn, and when they had regrouped, Hannah begrudgingly agreed that Dean was right- no vamps around.

"Where do we check now, then?" Raphael asked, fiddling with his machete. "Dad's gonna get really worried if we don't get back soon."

"I'm sure we'll find them, Raph. Let's go find that cabin."

 

\-- Dean --

Dean walked by himself as the group made the trek to the cabin they'd received intelligence of, as Sam walked beside Hannah and Balthazar, chatting about something or other. He swung his blade absent-mindedly from side to side as he walked, distracted. He was still slightly shocked from Chuck's description of his adopted son Castiel.

A young hunter with black hair and blue eyes.

That also meant the young vampire with brown hair and a sweet tooth must be Gabriel Shurley. Dean was torn between the decision to kill this vampire when they found him, or to trust what the witch Rowan had said. What was so special about these two young men that a three-hundred year old witch had to come and warn Dean about them?

Well, he'd soon find his answer.

The party ahead of Dean slowed, and as they turned a bend in the leaf-strewn path infested with overgrown tree roots, a small, derelict wooden log cabin came into sight. As soon as it was in full view, Dean immediately caught sight of two vampires standing guard in front of the cabin.

His doom and his saviour were inside that cabin.

Raphael walked a little further down, creeping as quietly as he could, through the cover of the trees, and returned a few moments later.

"There are two more vampires guarding the back of the house." he whispered, just loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. "I suggest three of us take the front, three of us take the back."

"Sam, you're with me." Dean said immediately.

Balthazar nodded to Dean. "I'll accompany you too."

"It's settled, then." Michael addressed them all. "Let's get this over with, and rescue our brothers."

Dean, Sam and Balthazar took the back door, while the other three took on the vampires standing out front. Dean crept up along the outside wall adjacent to the wall where the two targets stood. With a quick peek around, Dean noted that one vampire stood close to him. Without another moment's hesitation, he swung around the corner, his blade swinging after him, and the vampire's head was sliced cleanly off, blood spattering on the rotting wooden wall of the cabin. Sam and Balthazar made quick work of the other vampire, Dean picked the lock of the back door, and they entered.

The room they walked into was a small bedroom, with the two tiny beds roughly shoved to the side of the room, to make room for a wooden chair in the centre of the floor, with its legs nailed into the boards. And the chair was occupied- by a young man with light brown hair- and lying at his feet- was another young man, unconscious, bleeding- a young hunter, with black hair, and blue eyes.

"Castiel and Gabriel Shurley?" Dean ventured.

The young man sitting in the chair snapped his head up at the sound of Dean's voice, and seemingly involuntarily bared his teeth at Dean- no, his fangs. So Gabriel Shurley had been turned. They could all only hope now that he hadn't fed yet. But a glance more at the young, beautiful, unconscious man lying on the floor, with blood spread across his face like a crude painted mask, Dean wasn't so sure.

The young man on the floor- Castiel- stirred, groaning in pain, and tried to open his eyes. Dean took a step forward- mistake.

Watch your step.

Gabriel sprang at Dean, knocking him to the ground, and Sam and Balthazar, standing behind Dean, both gave a loud shout. For a few, exhilaratingly terrifying moments, Dean and the fledgling vampire grappled, and Dean honestly thought what Rowan had told him would come true- he was going to die.

"Gabe." a voice croaked weakly behind them. Castiel Shurley was trying to lift himself off the ground, clearly in pain.

Gabriel's fist, poised to crush Dean's nose, paused in mid-air.

"Gabe. Stop it, calm down. This is your hunger, making you do this. Stop it. These men are hunters, they're here to help us- Balthazar! You're here! Who else is with you?"

Balthazar stepped around his brother Gabriel, who was still locked in fighting position with Dean, to help pull his brother Castiel to his feet.

"Hannah's with Michael and Raphael in the other parts of the house, clearing out the other vampires."

Castiel slumped for a moment against Balthazar. "I'm so glad you're here. Gabriel needs help."

He pushed away from his fellow adopted brother, and reached into Balthazar's jacket. Dean watched as his destined saviour advanced with a syringe of dead man's blood, and before Gabriel could react, he jammed it into his older brother's neck, murmuring,

"I'm sorry, brother. I don't want to hurt you."

Dean pushed himself off the floor, as Gabriel crumpled in pain. Castiel wobbled on his feet, and tipped forward slightly- but Dean caught him in his arms before he could hit the floor.

"Easy there. You're hurt. We need to get you back to your family."

"But, what about Gabe? He needs help too. You can't kill him." Castiel pushed himself back from Dean, steadying himself by placing his hands on Dean's shoulders. "Gabe hasn't fed yet. You can't kill him. He's my brother."

The weight of Castiel's hands on Dean's shoulders surely felt heavier than they were, and for a moment, Dean was lost for words, staring Castiel in the eyes.

His eyes were stunning, a sparkling sapphire blue, unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

Dean shook his head, gently removing Castiel's hands from his shoulders. "Don't worry about your brother, Castiel. Sam and Balthazar will take care of him. Let's get you out of here."

 

\-- Sam --

Sam watched Gabriel carefully, the young vampire still groaning in pain, curled up on the floor of the cabin. Dean had left with Castiel, and the other three Shurleys had pursued the other vampires that had been occupying the cabin.

With Balthazar's help, Sam pulled out one of the beds from the side of the wall, and helped ease Gabriel to sit down on it. He crouched before Gabriel.

"How do you feel?"

"Terrible. Hungry- no, starving. And I feel utterly awful." Gabriel wouldn't meet Sam's or Balthazar's eyes.

"What's wrong, Gabriel?" Sam rose to sit beside Gabriel on the bed, and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Turning his head so that Sam couldn't see the expression on his face, Gabriel said,

"I'm ashamed. I'm a vampire now. I've become the very thing I was supposed to be hunting. We haven't managed to finish off the whole nest yet, so Castiel still hasn't properly avenged his family. I've failed my brother by this, and I've failed my family by getting captured, and turned. I don't know if I could face them going back. They're going to have to live with a vampire in their house now. And how am I going to feed? The other vampires told me animal blood is nasty."

"You haven't fed yet though, have you?" Sam inquired- and Gabriel nodded. "Well, there's still time for you. It's not too late. There is a cure for vampirism, you know."

"There is?"

"There is. My brother Dean, a couple of years ago, was turned into a vampire when we were on a hunt and he was captured. He managed to keep from feeding, and we were able to cure him. As long as you don't feed, we can cure you. Come on, Gabriel, let's get you back to your home."

Sam stood, and offered a hand to Gabriel.

And Gabriel stood, taking Sam's hand.

And Gabriel swung his fist, hard into the side of Sam's head, knocking him to the floor.


	7. O Brother Where Art Thou?

\-- Gabriel --

He was so weak and starving, but he somehow managed to get away from his adopted brother Balthazar, and the hunter who called himself Sam, who had pretty hazel eyes. Gabriel's neck still throbbed with pain, and his body was still laced with agony from the shot of dead man's blood, but he was now out of the cabin, and running as fast as he could through the woods, not caring where he went, but as long as he was away from all other humans, so he couldn't hurt them.

The reassuring words Sam gave him, for a moment had him under the illusion that Sam was right- that everything would be okay, that he could be cured of his newly inflicted disease. But even if Sam's brother had been cured of vampirism, how many others had? Gabriel was sure whatever ingredients were needed to cure him would be difficult and potentially perilous, and what was the success rate? Could he die if it went wrong? Gabriel wasn't sure whether he'd rather stay a vampire for eternity, or die.

Even though most of his mind was raging at himself that he was a fool to even hope that he could be cured, there was still a part of him that wanted to believe the hazel-eyed boy.

\-- Castiel --

The hunter who introduced himself as Dean Winchester left a note to Castiel's siblings Michael, Raphael and Hannah who'd pursued the vampires who escaped, on the driver seat of Michael's truck, that he was taking Castiel straight back to the Shurleys' house, to get him out of danger.

Castiel was worried about Gabriel.

"Hey Ca- do you mind if I call you Cas?" Dean began, as he revved the engine of his black '67 Chevy Impala, a vintage car that Castiel had always thought was truly beautiful, even if he knew nothing about cars.

"Sure." Castiel shrugged, looking out of the window in the shotgun seat.

"Cas. Don't worry about your brother Gabriel. He'll be fine, I'm sure. Sammy's a great hunter. He'll look after your brother. And he won't kill Gabriel, I promise you. You'll be fine, kiddo."

"How can you be so sure? I've heard so much about you Winchesters, you're like a legend. I've heard of all the crap you've been through in your lives. How do you get through every day?"

Dean paused for a long moment in pulling the car around, and looked away from Castiel, out of his own window. He sighed, and finally replied,

"Some days- many days- I almost don't. The amount of crap me and Sam have gone through...we lost our mother when Sam was six months old, we lost our father a few years ago. We've made friends with many people through cases, who have become hunters, and every one of them was killed- and I couldn't save them. Kevin, Charlie... And I went to Hell, too. We both did."

Castiel stared at Dean, unsure if he'd heard him correctly. "You went to Hell? Metaphorically?"

"No." Dean turned back around from staring out of his window, and faced Castiel. "Me and Sam, we've both been to Hell. Literal, capital H Hell. Sam never talks about his experience there, he almost went insane. I went there after making a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sammy back after he was killed, once. I spent four months there- but down in there, it was like forty years. I spent thirty of those years being tortured, and then I couldn't take it anymore- I gave in, and began doing the torturing myself."

Castiel couldn't even reply, he was at a loss for words.

"So it's a miracle and a mystery to me that I still get through every day. I don't know why I even told you that." Dean didn't speak another word as the Impala pulled away from the cabin and sped back on the way to the Shurleys' house.

\-- Sam --

Sam's head throbbed savagely, and his back hurt from where he'd hit the floor after Gabriel knocked him down.  
Balthazar had been thrown to the floor, and now he was picking himself up, groaning. He offered a hand to Sam, who took it in thanks as Balthazar pulled him up.

"What the hell was that?" Sam couldn't understand why Gabriel had run away like that. "Why did Gabriel run away?"

"I don't know. He's ashamed. He's ashamed that he's a 'monster' now," Balthazar said, making air quotes at the word 'monster'. "He doesn't want to face Dad, or Amara, or any of our family. I get why. But surely he knows that we all love him, even if he is now a vampire. We're not the hunters that kill every single monster we meet, even if they're peaceful."

"I talked to him, I told him there's a cure. I told him we could happen, if he doesn't feed." Sam shook his head. "But no matter now. We need to go after him."

Sam picked up his weapons from where they'd fallen on the floor, and exited the room, Balthazar following.  
The rest of the house was empty, blood splotches covering every piece of furniture. When they went out through the front door, there was no one out there either. The Shurleys' truck was still there, but the Impala wasn't.

"Dean must have taken Castiel back to your house." Sam said, and Balthazar poked his head through an open window in the truck.

"There's a note in here." He called. "Dean said he's taken Cas home."

"Great. How far do you think Gabriel went- do you know where he would have gone from here?"

"No clue. I think we should just follow the way the other vamps went, and we'll probably find him. We need to find Hannah, Michael and Raphael too." Balthazar hefted his machete, and turned from the truck, and trudged up through the woods.  
As Sam walked alongside Balthazar, his mind kept drifting back to Gabriel. The young vampire intrigued him, and there was something about the expression he'd had on his face when he'd told Sam he was ashamed of himself- something he couldn't shake.

Sam wanted to protect Gabriel. He'd looked so frightened when he and Balthazar and Dean had burst into the room- at first he'd seemed afraid that they were going to hurt Castiel, but upon seeing Balthazar it seemed he'd realised Castiel was safe. But when Sam had talked to him, and told him they'd bring him back to his family, his expression shifted from one of apprehension to one of fear and shame. Sam could only imagine how he was feeling. It was miracle how he'd managed to survive this long without feeding- to have the strength to knock out both Sam and Balthazar and escape from them once again, even after being injected with dead man's blood. Sam silently swore to himself that he'd make sure Gabriel would get through this alive, and would be cured.

Sam hadn't been keeping track of how long they'd been walking when they ran into someone lying curled up on the ground, as if in pain.

It was Hannah. She was sprawled on the ground, one of her ankles twisted at a strange angle.

"Hannah! What's happened?" Balthazar ran forwards to his fellow adopted sibling, just as Michael and Raphael burst through the trees, running to Hannah's side.

Hannah tried to speak, but her voice came out croaky, and Balthazar shushed her, slowly helping her to her feet, while Sam could only look on.

"What happened? Did you catch the other vampires?" Sam asked Raphael, who stopped next to him, bracing his hand on a tree trunk as he tried to catch his breath. "You look like you've just been running at full speed."

"The vampires got away." Raphael got out. "Hannah was knocked down by one of them as we were chasing them- she's probably broken her ankle, or at least twisted it. We didn't manage to catch a single one of them, dammit. We're competent hunters, we should have been able to catch them and dispose of them all by now. Where's Gabriel? Has he gone back home with Castiel?"

Sam paused for a moment, avoiding Raphael's eyes. "He got away."

"What?" Michael demanded, looking to Sam from where he was helping Balthazar support Hannah.

"Gabriel escaped. He knocked out both me and Balthazar, and he got away from us. I think he headed in this direction."

"Why did you let him escape? He must have already been weak- I know he hasn't fed yet- how the hell did he manage to escape? Damn you-"

"Michael." Raphael said sternly.

"Please, don't pin the blame on me." Sam pleaded. "I talked to Gabriel. He doesn't want to go home. He's ashamed of himself. He's afraid to go back home to face his family now that he's been turned. He thinks he'll get pushed away."

"That's nonsense!" Michael almost choked on his words. "That idiot, why wouldn't we accept him? We're his goddamn family, why would we not accept him?!"

"He doesn't realise that, Michael." Sam said gently. "You'll need to give him some time. I told him there's a cure, and I swear I'll see to it that he gets it. But you need to be patient with him. My brother Dean was once turned into a vampire, and he was cured. Gabriel will get through this."

"Where's Castiel?" Raphael interjected.

"Dean has taken him back to your house. He's safe, don't worry. Dean wouldn't do anything to him." Sam replied. "We still need to go after Gabriel. Let's get a move on, before he gets too far away."

"We'll take Hannah back to the truck. Sam and Raphael, you go after Gabriel." Balthazar said, as he and Michael began to slowly lead Hannah away, back towards where the truck was parked.

Sam didn't wait for them to disappear before he set off again, walking fast. Next to him, Raphael was silent, and though his face and body language were neutral, Sam could feel the tension rolling off him in waves, and when he took a glance at Raphael, his eyes were full of worry.

"Hey, Raphael, don't worry. Gabriel will be fine. I promise you we'll find him. And look-" Sam stopped for a moment and crouched down, examining the ground. "Look here- the leaves on the ground have been scattered messily, and there are dragging footprints in the dirt, suggesting that someone injured or weak has passed through here- we must be close to Gabriel."

The faint gurgling of a stream up ahead drifted to their ears, and Sam halted, hiding behind a tree- and he slowly poked his head around the side to look at the bank of the stream- and there he was. Gabriel was lying crumpled in the mud next to the stream, one of his hands dangling in the water.

"Gabriel!" Raphael called, about to rush forwards to his younger brother, but Sam put out a hand to stop him.

"Careful. This could be a trap. We've got to check the other vampires aren't here too, before we go to rescue Gabriel." Sam inched slowly forwards, away from the tree he'd hidden behind, and listened carefully for rustling of the leaves on the ground- but there was no noise except the stream and a few birds twittering in the branches above them. There were not many places the vampires could hide- Sam checked above his head, and all the branches of the trees were clearly visible- and no vampires were crouched there, ready to spring. "I think all is clear."

Raphael walked with wide strides towards his younger brother, and kneeled in the mud next to his unconscious body, not caring that he was getting mud all over his trousers. He slid his hands under his brother's body, and struggled to lift him. Sam appeared by his side and helped lift Gabriel up into Raphael's arms. Sam observed the young vampire was pale- paler than vampires normally were, and his fangs were hidden inside his gums, and his face was gaunt from lack of feeding. Even as Raphael began to walk back towards where Michael, Balthazar and Hannah would be waiting, across the uneven ground, and almost tripping over a protruding root or two, Gabriel didn't stir. He must have passed out from the extreme hunger- it had been, what, five days since he was turned, and he hadn't fed once yet?

There were only five seats in the truck and six of them, but Michael sat with Raphael in the front two seats, Michael driving and Raphael riding shotgun, while Hannah leaned against the window in her seat in the cabin, and Sam and Balthazar took the other two seats, holding Gabriel between them. Throughout the journey back, Sam couldn't help glancing back every so often at the unconscious vampire's face, something in it drawing Sam to the boy.

\-- Dean --

When Dean and Castiel had arrived back at the Shurleys' house, Chuck had thrown open the door and come running to meet them as they got out of the Impala, throwing his arms around his adopted son. Dean stood a distance back and watched them, and missed his own family. As Chuck led Castiel inside, Castiel glanced back once at Dean, his sapphire eyes sparkling, and something in Dean's chest shuddered.

Back in the kitchen, Castiel was seated on a chair, and Amara was tending to his wounds while Chuck talked to Dean about what had happened.

"Mr Shurley, we found your son Gabriel in the old abandoned hut, with your son Castiel unconscious on the floor next to him. There were other vampires in the house, but I assume the others took them out- I took Castiel home while Balthazar and my brother Sam dealt with Gabriel. Don't worry, Gabriel will be safe. We'll cure him."

"Are you sure it will work though?" Chuck was constantly wringing his hands, unable to keep still through worry for his son, and Dean wondered if he'd wear the skin away completely. "I've heard about this cure for vampirism, but are you sure it can work?"

"Sure. It worked for me."

"For- you?"

"Yeah, I got turned on a hunt, once. But I managed to abstain from feeding, and Sam and Bobby managed to cure me. Taking the cure itself is a difficult process, and is quite painful, but it works. Among other ingredients, you'll need the blood of the vampire that turned Gabriel."

"How are we going to get that? What if that vampire's already dead though?"

"It doesn't matter if that vampire's dead, the cure will still work. When Gabriel returns, we'll find out which vampire turned him, and then we'll get their blood." Dean paused. "While we're waiting for the others to return, is there anything else that needs taking care of?"

Amara looked over from finishing patching up Castiel, and said, "I got word of a troublesome demon a few miles from here. Causing trouble in a campsite. It won't be much effort, just need to exorcise the thing- there's only one of them. The hunter who'd taken up the responsibility of the demon has been called to somewhere else in an emergency."

"I can take care of that for you if you want. It might be a little while before the others return." Dean stood up, and started towards the door."

"I'm coming too." Castiel made to follow Dean.

"No, you're absolutely not." Chuck stood up.

"Why can't I go?" Castiel demanded indignantly.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt again. You should stay here for a bit to rest."

"I don't need any rest. I'm fine. I'm 20 years old now, Dad, I don't need your permission to go on a hunt. Besides, Amara said this will be a small one, and Dean will be there too, so I've got backup. I need to go and do something, to take my mind off the recent events for a bit."

Chuck's shoulders sagged, and Dean knew that Castiel had won that short argument. Castiel walked out of the kitchen, past Dean and headed towards the Impala. A moment later, Dean followed.

Castiel took his seat next to Dean, and as Dean started the engine and the Impala rolled out of the Shurleys' driveway, he turned to Dean and said,

"I'm sorry about that. My dad's still overprotective of me, it's annoying sometimes."

"Don't worry, Cas. I won't let any harm come to you." Dean rested his hand awkwardly on Castiel's for a moment, and he felt Castiel shiver with the same charged feeling that spread through Dean's body, and then he removed his hand.

Both of them were silent for most of the ride, and Castiel slumped back in his seat, his black hair adorably messy, staring at no fixed point ahead of them.

It didn't take them long to get to the campsite that the demon had been reported to be terrorising- and when they got out of the car, they could clearly see a demon had been there. The campers who'd pitched their tents there were huddled up inside them, the openings zipped shut, and wouldn't come out. In the middle of the cluster of canvas was a deserted campfire, and when Dean bent over it to inspect it, he found a pile of sulphur.

"Cas." he called. "Demon's definitely been here. There's sulphur all over the place."

"A'right." Castiel called over in reply, from where he was talking to a couple of the campers through a small unzipped slit in their tent door. Dean stood up from inspecting the campfire's remnants, and joined Castiel by the tent door.

"You don't need to be afraid of us, we're here to help. We're here to get rid of the thing that's been messing around here. What can you tell us about it?" Dean put on as reassuring a voice as he could, but Sam was always the better one at sympathy.

A face moved into view through the slit, a small, dark face, a girl.

"It was my best friend." she began. "We came here on a camping trip with our families, and he was acting weird the whole day yesterday. My parents and his are devout Christians, and when we all gathered to say our prayers before we went to sleep last night, he started acting as though he was really uncomfortable, and then his eyes turned black- like, completely black. We all freaked out, and then he ran away. And he came back earlier today, to terrorise us, and he kept laughing, like he was really enjoying it. He almost killed me. But that's not him- that's not like him. Something's wrong with him."

Dean smiled as sympathetically as he could, pausing for a moment to take in a breath, and then said, "That's because it wasn't your best friend doing that. He...do you want the truth? It's not for the faint-hearted."

The girl nodded through the slit. "Tell me. He's my best friend. I want to know what's happened to him."

"Well, you probably won't believe me. Your best friend is possessed. By a demon."

"A demon?" the girl exclaimed, incredulous. Dean could just make out her hands making the cross over her chest, through the dark opening in the tent.

"Yes, it's a demon. It's what's made your best friend act weird, and what left the piles of sulphur everywhere. Me and my friend Castiel here," Dean gestured to Castiel. "are here to get rid of it."

"You won't hurt my best friend though?" the girl asked, alarmed.

"No, we won't. As long as the demon doesn't hurt your friend's body, we can exorcise it from him, and he'll be fine. Do you know where he ran off to?"

"I think he's probably hiding out in the woods somewhere."

Leaving the girl to zip up the tent fully again, Dean made his way into the woods surrounding the campsite, and Castiel followed behind him. They hadn't walked far when the loud, clear sound of a twig snapping echoed through the trees, from ahead. Dean instinctively put a hand out onto Castiel's chest, pushing him a little back, to hide out of the way, and it didn't move from its position.

For a moment, everything in the woods went still. Castiel was staring down at Dean's hand that was resting on his chest, and Dean could feel the skin heat beneath his palm, and he could feel his own cheeks heating.

Another twig snapped, breaking them out of their reverie. Castiel swallowed, staring at Dean. Dean tried to say something, stopped, forgetting what he was going to say.

"Let's, uh, find the demon, shall we?" Castiel's voice shook a little as he stepped closer to Dean, who moved away as he began walking again.

He couldn't think straight as they crept silently through the trees, tracking the demon. His mind wouldn't let him forget the moment that had just passed, and it replayed constantly over and over in his head, so much so that he almost missed the demon.

This time, it was Castiel who reached his hand out to rest on Dean's chest, stopping him in his tracks. Quietly, he raised a hand, pointing to a tree above them. There was a figure stretched out on a branch- supposedly the demon- and he looked like he was asleep.

Dean watched as Castiel bent down quietly to pick up a stick that lay on the forest floor, and equally as quietly, began drawing a large devil's trap in the dirt around the tree, pressing the stick hard down into the ground.

"We have you trapped, demon. Give yourself up." Castiel called up.

The boy lying on the branch jerked his head up, snapping it around to look down at Dean and Castiel. He blinked, his eyes turning black. He jumped down from the branch he was perched on, stumbling as he hit the ground, which would probably leave the body's owner with a broken ankle. He tried to move forward to attack Dean, but was stopped by the devil's trap scratched deep into the ground. He hissed at the two hunters, his black eyes shining again.

"What do you want, Dean Winchester?" he snarled.

Dean shuddered at the hatred dripping in the demon's voice. He wasn't surprised that the demon knew who he was. It seemed like the whole of Hell knew the Winchesters.

"We want nothing from you." Dean spat. "Just to get the hell out of that boy and go back to Hell."

Castiel stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dean. "Exorcizamus te," he began.

"Omnis immundus spiritus,

Omnis Satanica potestas,

Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii,

Omnis legio,

Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica,

Ergo, draco maledicte,

Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias-"

"Shut up." the demon snarled, cutting Castiel off.

"Libertate servire,

Te rogamus,

Audi nos!" Dean finished. "Adios bitch."

The demon didn't get another chance to spew insults at Dean before black smoke was billowing from his mouth, and with a scream, plunged down through the earth, back to Hell. The young boy, now free of the demon, crumpled forwards on his injured ankle, and fell out of the devil's trap- but Castiel lurched forward to catch him in time before he hit the ground.

"Hey, you're okay now. You'll be fine, you're safe. Let's get you back to your family."

Dean picked up the boy, and carried him in his arms, back to the campsite. His family came bursting from their tent as they approached, and gathered their boy in their arms together. His mother, and the young girl thanked Dean and Castiel, and then left them, to tend to the boy's ankle.

Dean's phone rang in his pocket. He picked up, and it was Sam on the other line.

"Hey, Dean, it's Sam. We've got Gabriel, and we've just got back to the Shurley's house. Get back here asap."

Sam hung up before Dean could say anything, and Dean looked over at Castiel.

"Cas, Sam's just returned to your house with Gabriel. Let's go."

Castiel set off running, back towards where Dean had parked the Impala, and soon they were running side by side, through the trees.

Dean didn't see the root on the floor of the woods, and his foot rammed into it, tripping him up, throwing him against Castiel, knocking them both to the ground. Dean's face was inches from Castiel's.

"Uh, Dean." Castiel's cheeks had reddened. "What just happened?"

"I, uh, tripped over."

Dean forgot whatever else he was going to say, as Castiel grasped the collar of his shirt, and pulled Dean towards him- and kissed him.


	8. You Can't Save Everyone

\-- Sam --  
The moment the Shurleys' truck had stopped outside of the house, Chuck raced down the front steps and was there before Gabriel's door was even open. Sam watched from a little distance, Chuck gathering his unconscious son in his arms, squeezing him close to his chest, and carried him gently inside. Sam followed Chuck as he went back inside the house, and sat down at the bare kitchen table, while Chuck carried Gabriel to where Sam supposed was Gabriel's bedroom. He watched the unconscious young vampire go, and felt a pang in his heart. For some reason, he felt connected to Gabriel. He'd felt such a strong urge to protect the older boy in the cabin, and that feeling hadn't faded.  
Chuck walked back into the room, and Sam asked, "How is he?"  
"He's very weak. He's been a vamp for several days now, and hasn't fed once. We need to get that cure. When are Dean and Castiel getting home?"  
"I called Dean the moment we arrived back here, they should be back here soon." Sam replied.  
Chuck didn't have to wait long though, as about ten minutes later, the front door opened, and Dean and Castiel walked in.  
Immediately, Sam could sense something different about the two of them- their postures were slightly more relaxed than Sam remembered them being, and their bodies seemed to gravitate towards each other. Both of their faces were flushed, but Chuck didn't seem to notice any of it. Sam made a mental note to ask Dean later.  
"Gabriel's back, Castiel. He's in his bedroom." Chuck told his younger son, and then turned to address both Sam and Dean. "You both know of the cure, right?"  
"Yeah. It's a ritual that was recorded in a journal by one of our Campbell relatives. It requires the blood of the vampire that turned Gabriel- and just a note, it will make him sick for a few days after he's taken it- but there won't be any other secondary effects, and he'll be human again. Unfortunately, we don't know which vampire turned Gabriel, so we'll have to ask him." Sam explained.  
"He's very weak though."  
"So he'll probably need feeding." Sam suggested.  
"Hang on," Amara, who'd just walked into the room, interrupted. "I thought the cure didn't work if the vampire has fed, though?"  
"If the vampire has fed on human blood. I know it's apparently disgusting, but Gabriel can feed on animal blood to keep up his strength a little while we're sorting out the cure."  
"Oh, okay." Amara looked hesitant. "We do have some animal blood in the freezer, that we use to hunt other monsters, but we can give some of it to Gabriel. Are you sure it's only human blood that affects the cure?"  
"Yeah, that's what the journal said. I get what you mean though- the risk of it not working if he consumes animal blood. I don't think that will affect it, but let's just get this cure asap." Sam gave Amara a reassuring smile, and turned back to Chuck. "When do you think Gabriel will be okay to visit? We need to ask him which vampire it was that turned him."  
Chuck hesitated, and then said after a moment, “I think we should give him tonight to rest, and we’ll see how he is in the morning- and we’ll give him some animal blood. And Sam and Dean, I think we’ll still need your help, so you can stay here tonight with us- you can take my bedroom if you want.”  
“Oh, no, Mr Shurley, it’s fine don’t worry. We can sleep in the car.” Dean replied.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah, don’t worry. Baby’s been faithful to me for years, we’ve had to camp out in her before, we’ll be fine. If we’re not up when Gabriel gets up, then come and get us.” Dean insisted, and got up from where he’d sat down, exiting the kitchen.  
Sam made to follow Dean, but paused for a moment, looking back in the direction Gabriel had been taken, feeling that tug in his chest again.  
“Come on, Sam.” Dean called to him, and he turned to leave.  
They’d settled down to sleep on Baby’s leather seats, and Sam spoke,  
“What’s going on with you and Castiel?”  
It was dark, and Sam couldn’t see what expression would be on Dean’s face, but he was silent for a few moments, and then he said,  
“What do you mean? There’s nothing going on.”  
“Yeah, right. I think you sometimes forget I’m your brother- I know you, Dean, you can’t lie to me. There’s definitely something going on between the two of you. Did something happen when you got back from the cabin?”  
“Shut up, Sam.” Dean growled. Only a few seconds later, he sighed, and Sam could hear his body shifting around, to put his back to Sam, even though the leather car seats were already separating them. “We went on a little hunt before you got back with Gabriel- just to get rid of this demon that was causing trouble in a campsite.”  
“And?” Sam prodded.  
“And- he- he kissed me, Sam. Are you happy now?”  
Sam ignored Dean’s grumpy question- he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard.  
“He what?”  
“Sam, Castiel kissed me.”  
“He kissed you… did you- did you kiss him back?” stop talking, Sam.  
“What- do you have a problem with that?” Dean demanded.  
“No…you’re not gay though, are you?”  
“No, but I think I’m bisexual. I mean, the way he’s looked at me a few times, I’ve had this prickly feeling a few times, and once I put my hand on top of his to comfort him, and the touch of his skin was like an electric shock or something.”  
“Huh. Well from the way you two were behaving towards each other when you came in earlier, he’s definitely attracted to you-”  
“Alright, Sam. Enough about me- what’s going on with you and Gabriel?”  
Sam could feel every beat through his chest as his heart rate sped up. “Don’t even think about lying to me, Sam- you guessed there was something between me and Castiel- there’s obviously something going on between you and Gabriel. I saw the expression in your face when you looked back at where Chuck had taken Gabriel, before we came out to the car- you feel something for him, you can’t deny it.”  
“No, I guess not. There’s something there, definitely. But I don’t think anything’s going to come of it.”  
“Why not?”  
“Well, I barely know him, for a start.”  
“Yeah, and I barely know Castiel, and we’ve already got something.”  
“Well that’s just you, Dean- you can get the girls, and you can get the guys, too. I’m not you, Dean. Besides, Gabriel knocked me out, and tried to attack me. But even so, I feel this urge to protect him- even though he’s older than me.”  
“Well maybe you should talk to him tomorrow- but I’m tired now, and we’ll have a load of things to do tomorrow to bring Gabriel back to being human. G’night, bitch.” Dean shifted around on the seats again, and finally settled down, not speaking another word.  
“Goodnight, jerk.” Sam muttered.  
\-- Gabriel --  
Gabriel woke up in his own bed, in his own bedroom, and for a moment he wondered if everything that had happened these past few days had just been a bad dream. But wait- it wasn't all bad- there was a glimmer of hope, in the form of a tall young man with long-ish hair and beautiful hazel eyes. Sam Winchester. He'd given Gabriel faith that they could find a cure and Gabriel would be human again- though he'd run away anyway, because he was so unbearably hungry that he felt like even the sight of a human would tempt him.  
He sat up, expecting to meet some sort of restraint- ropes tying his wrists to the bed- but nothing. And when he checked his ankles, there was nothing tying him down there either. He slowly stood up from the bed, trying not to topple over, still dizzy with hunger, and went to the windows. The windows were shut, and bolted, and locked- even though he had vampire strength now, he was weak from hunger and wouldn't be able to break the lock. But he didn't have any more time to contemplate escaping- as his bedroom door opened, and his father stood at the threshold.  
"Gabriel, my son." he stepped forward, into the room, leaving the door open behind him. "We've been looking for you everywhere. Don't ever do that again, you scared me half to death."  
Gabriel didn't say anything, staring at Chuck, and felt himself back away, towards the corner of the room. Something in Chuck's face shifted, a pained expression bloomed.  
"Gabriel, what's the matter? I'm not ashamed of you, you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. We're going to get you a cure, you'll be okay." Chuck stepped up to Gabriel, and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him- but Gabriel almost instinctively knocked it away. He could hear every beat of Chuck's heart, hear the blood pumping around his body, and though he kept his mouth clamped tightly shut, he could feel his fangs snap down.  
Chuck began to back away- turned back, opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Gabriel walked up to the door, making sure it was properly closed, and then leaned back against it, slowly sliding down against the wood, to sit on the floor with his back to it.  
Only a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door- and he expected to hear his father's voice, trying to convince him to come out- but it wasn't Chuck on the other side.  
"Gabriel?" Sam Winchester called, tentatively.  
Gabriel froze. He didn't reply, waiting for Sam to leave- but he didn't leave. He knocked again,  
"Are you there, Gabriel? It's me, Sam Winchester." A moment of silence passed. Then, Sam spoke again. "Gabriel. It's just me, nobody else is with me. I just want to talk, open up." Another heartbeat of silence. "Do you want me to go and fetch Castiel- do you want to talk to Castiel instead?"  
Gabriel got up. He opened the door, and Sam Winchester was standing on the threshold. Gabriel pulled the door open further, gesturing for Sam to enter. Once Sam was in Gabriel's room, Gabriel closed the door behind him, and turned his back on Sam for a moment, to sit down on his bed.  
"What do you want to talk about, Sam?" He asked. "What is there to talk about?"  
"Many things. If you want to talk, I'll listen. I know you feel ashamed of yourself in front of your family- that's why I decided to come and talk to you, instead of your father coming to try and speak with you again. Maybe it's better if you talk to someone you don't know. Don't worry, I won't judge you. My brother was turned into a vampire once." Sam took a step forward- and then another one, but Gabriel didn't flinch, didn't move away. He didn't shuffle further away from Sam when he sat down next to Gabriel on the edge of the mattress.  
The proximity of Sam's body to his, their legs almost touching, sent a buzz through Gabriel, and his thoughts seemed to clear a little. He opened his mouth, was silent for a moment longer, and then said,  
"I am ashamed."  
"Why are you ashamed, Gabriel?" Sam placed his hand gently over Gabriel's for a moment, providing a reassuring warmth, but drew it away again- but Gabriel grasped it tightly, not allowing Sam to withdraw it.  
The feel of the rough skin, the warmth of his palm, was Gabriel's anchor as he said, "I'm ashamed of being what I am in front of my family. I've been turned into a vampire- something my family hunts- something I was supposed to hunt. I don't believe that they wouldn't look at me as I am now, and not instinctively think, this is a monster, we must get rid of it."  
\-- Sam --  
Sam's heart ached awfully for Gabriel. He'd guessed that what he'd just said was the truth, but hearing the very words from his own lips struck a blow to his heart. All he wanted was to gather the older boy in his arms and hug him tight to his chest.  
Sam lifted a hand to rest on Gabriel's shoulder. Gabriel stared down at Sam's hand, not lifting his gaze for a long, long moment. And when he raised his head again, there were tears in his eyes.  
Sam's heart broke.  
The hand that rested on the young vampire's shoulder moved to his cheek, and with a swipe, Sam wiped the tears away. A jolt ran through Sam's body as Gabriel's hand reached to hold the hand that was cupped against Gabriel's cheek. The feel- the touch- the softness of his skin- was soothing and electrifying at the same time. Gabriel turned his face into Sam's palm, and Sam felt the warm tears brushing his skin. Sam felt the tremor of Gabriel's shuddering sobs through their joined hands. He broke the contact of their hands, and pulled Gabriel towards him, holding the young man tightly to him as he cried. Almost instinctively, Sam moved his face to the side, pressing a kiss firmly to Gabriel's temple.  
Sam felt the shudder that ran through Gabriel's body at the touch of his lips, and he felt the electrified friction of their skin as Gabriel shifted his face so that it was no longer Gabriel's cheek that Sam's lips rested against, but Gabriel's own lips.  
Sam sat motionless for a moment, shocked by Gabriel's action, and Gabriel stilled.  
He pulled back, "Sam?"  
"Sorry, Gabriel. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't mean-"  
Gabriel took Sam's hands and kissed him again. "It's okay, I get it."  
\-- Castiel --  
Castiel sat at the dining table, nibbling slowly at a piece of toast that had cooled a while ago, the butter that had melted on it congealing slightly. Dean sat next to him, his own plate empty save for a few crumbs. Sam and Dean had got up and come back into the Shurley house only an hour or so ago, when everybody else was getting up too, and they'd sat down to eat some breakfast that Michael cooked for them. Chuck had gone to Gabriel's bedroom, to try and talk to him, but Gabriel refused to do so, and Chuck had returned to the kitchen with a despairing look on his face. Sam had then stood up and tried to console Chuck, and then went to Gabriel's room to try and talk to him, himself. He'd been in there for a while now.  
Castiel still felt miserable, even though they'd found his brother again. Today, Chuck had arranged with a few other hunters to go out and hunt down the vampires again- but just to find the one who'd turned Gabriel, to get their blood, so that they could make the cure. Chuck had told them that the hunters would be coming at midday.  
Castiel was jerked from his thoughts as Sam entered the room. His hair seemed to be a little messy, messier than it had been when the Winchesters had entered the house this morning, but Castiel didn't bother wondering why.  
"Just talked to Gabriel. The vampire who turned him was a female one with blonde hair called Kate." He sat down on a chair, staring down at the place mat, and Castiel thought he could see a tinge of pink on his cheeks.  
Dean stood up and said, "Sam, can we talk?"  
He walked outside, and Sam stood up to follow.  
Castiel was alone once again, sitting by himself at the table, and his mind drifted to the events of yesterday.  
That little demon hunt had been a piece of cake, and nobody had been too badly injured, except for the boy's injured ankle, but that would heal easily. But- that wasn't what Castiel was thinking about.  
The kiss.  
Or rather, kisses, plural.  
Dean had tripped over a tree root, and slammed into Castiel, and they'd both been knocked to the ground. Dean's body was thrown on top of Castiel's, and though the older boy's weight was crushing him slightly, he didn't mind it too bad. In fact, he kind of liked the pressure.  
Dean had made to get up, but Castiel had grabbed the collar of his jacket, automatically, and Dean had given him this quizzical look, his green eyes sparkling. And then Castiel hadn’t been able to resist- he’d pulled Dean down towards him, and kissed him on the lips.  
Dean had been a little shocked at first, from this sudden bold move that Castiel had made- and he'd pulled away, staring at Castiel with this strange look that was a mix of surprise and confusion and desire. He'd got up to his feet, and then reached a hand down to Castiel, who took it. Dean had pulled Castiel up, and Castiel had thought that they would now just continue back to where the Impala was parked, but instead Dean grabbed the collar of Castiel's trenchcoat, shoved him up against the nearest tree, and kissed him again. Dean had kissed him with intensity and a passion that Castiel had never seen in anyone before. Castiel didn't even try to take control, he held on to Dean's jacket, and kissed Dean back with all his desire burning like holy fire in his chest.  
Castiel had no idea how long it had been, until Dean’s phone buzzed in his pocket again, and he broke off, leaving them both gasping for air. They’d walked back to the Impala, silent, and were silent as they drove back to the Shurleys’ house- and even up until now, as Castiel waited in the kitchen while Dean and Sam talked outside, they still hadn’t spoken.  
\-- Sam --  
Sam wondered why Dean had led him outside to talk- but as soon as the door was closed, preventing anyone inside overhearing their conversation, Dean demanded,  
“What happened in there, Sam?” Dean seemed to be a little pissed off, but Sam could see that he was fighting to wipe the growing grin off his face.  
“What?”  
“What happened in Gabriel’s room? You were in there for a while. And I’m sure your hair wasn’t that messy before.” Dean raised an eyebrow.  
“A story for a story.” Sam said. “Gabriel kissed me.”  
Dean gave a loud whoop, that surely would have been heard even through the thick walls of the house, and clapped Sam on the shoulder, “That’s my boy!”  
“Dean… seriously. Stop it. It’s not that big a deal.”  
“Oh, come on Sammy-”  
Sam didn’t get to hear whatever Dean was going to say to him, as he was cut off by a loud honking of a car horn.  
A truck rolled to a stop in the Shurleys’ driveway, and out from the shotgun seat jumped Jo Harvelle. Ellen followed after her, locking the car, and they headed towards Sam and Dean.  
“Hang on a sec.” Dean said to Jo as she passed them. “Didn’t you get badly injured like, five days ago? Shouldn’t you still be in hospital?”  
“I called in a little favour from a friendly witch I know, a guy called Rowan. He made me a potion, and now I’m back to normal!” Jo flexed her arms, winking at Dean, and walked on, into the house. Ellen followed, glaring at Dean as she passed, though Sam could see the corner of her mouth was turned up in a grin. She held open the unlocked front door for them, and Sam and Dean went back inside.  
Chuck was sitting at the dining table with Amara and Castiel, and stood up when Ellen and Jo entered.  
“Ellen, Jo. I’m so glad you could come. Where are the others?”  
“Garth’s got werewolf trouble, and is too wrapped up in it to come and help, and Rufus has got stuck with Bobby on some difficult case with some sort of ghost thing, I’m not too sure what it is.” Ellen smiled at Chuck.  
"Are you sure it'll be alright with just five of you?" Chuck asked, and Sam could hear the worry in his voice.  
"We'll be fine, don't worry, Chuck." Jo grinned at him. "We're well prepared." She patted the two machetes shoved into her belt, and a bandolier of syringes full of dead man's blood that was slung over her shoulder. "Are we ready to go, boys?"  
Sam stood from where he'd sat down on a chair, and he watched as Dean walked over to Castiel, not speaking a word, but taking his hand and pulling him up from his own chair. Castiel disappeared off to the basement to gather weapons, and Sam followed Dean, Ellen and Jo, as they left the house. Dean swung into the front seat of the Impala, while Ellen and Jo got back into their own truck, and Ellen started the engine. It wasn't long before Castiel joined Sam and Dean in the Impala, and they were off, to gather the blood of Gabriel's maker.  
"Dean, where are we going?" Sam, sitting in the shotgun seat, turned to his brother.  
Dean didn't reply to Sam's question, but instead rolled down his window, and shouted out at the Harvelles' truck,  
"Oi, Ellen. Where are we going?"  
A moment later, Ellen rolled down her own window, giving Dean a stern look, and replied,  
"We're following you. I don't know where they might be."  
"Well I think there's two possible places. Either the barn we first found them in, or the little log cabin they were in when we went to rescue Gabriel."  
"How about we split up and search both, then? Jo and I will go along to the barn, and you three go to the cabin. If they are there, don't go in yet, but call us, and we'll join you. How about that?"  
"Sounds good." Dean rolled down the window, and set off again.  
Sam spent the short journey to the cabin staring out of the window, and trying hard not to think about Gabriel, but it wasn't working. He suddenly imagined Bobby then, and what he would say to Sam. He'd frown at Sam and say, you like him, idjit, just go for it.  
As soon as Dean killed the engine and Sam got out of the car, Sam knew that the vampires were not at the cabin. The trails in the gravel made by Gabriel and the other escaping vampires were still in the driveway of the cabin, and the front door was still open as it had been left last time. When they made a thorough investigation of the log cabin, it was clear that the vampires hadn't been back here since they'd captured Gabriel.  
Which meant that the remaining nine must be in the barn-  
Ellen and Jo were walking into a trap.  
"Dean! We need to get to the barn now!"  
"Huh, what?"  
"Ellen and Jo are walking into a trap!"  
Dean probably broke several laws driving at full speed to the barn, but there was no one else around to see. The Harvelles' truck was parked outside of the barn, and the door in the wall they faced was wide open, hanging off on one hinge, and if Sam squinted, he could see a smear of blood on the ground, leading inside the barn. He leapt out of the car, hefting his machete, and bolted inside, not waiting for Dean.  
The first room they entered was empty.  
At first, everything was silent.  
If there were rats in this building, Sam couldn't hear them.  
But then-  
A scream.  
Ellen.  
"No! Jo!"  
They were too late.  
Sam followed Ellen's cries, running faster than he ever had before, and almost burst through the door into the next room had Dean not grabbed his jacket and yanked him back, putting a finger to lips. Dean reached around Sam, and slowly eased open the door.  
Ellen and Jo were on the floor.  
A blonde vampire was stood over them, and Sam could hear her mocking laugh.  
Jo had a large gash across her front, and she was limp in her mother's arms, but Sam could still faintly make out her breathing. Ellen had tears pouring down her face, one arm bent at a strange angle, and was begging the vampire standing over her to stop.  
"Please... not my baby..."  
"Ellen!" Dean shouted, running forwards, before Sam could pull him back. The blonde vampire turned, and Sam remembered the description Gabriel had given of the vampire that turned him. A tall female vampire with blonde hair, her name's Kate. She has a permanent mean look on her face, and really seems to take pleasure in other's pain.  
This must be Kate.  
Sam drew two syringes in his hands, one full of dead man's blood, and one empty, to draw the blood from Kate. While Kate was occupied with Dean, Sam grabbed her from behind and slammed the needle of the full syringe into her neck, and she thrashed out, screaming. He couldn't hold her still enough to get the blood from her- and he only had a second's warning, and a shout of 'Duck!' before Dean swiped forward with his blade, and severed Kate's head clean off. The body collapsed to the grimy floor, and Sam jammed the empty syringe into her arm, filling it as far as it could go. He pocketed it, and joined Dean on the floor next to Ellen and Jo. Dean was trying to wrap a bandage gently around Jo's middle, but she was losing too much blood.  
And then shouts sounded from somewhere else in the barn. Jo's eyes widened.  
"The other vampires. They're coming. Go..." she coughed violently, spewing blood all over her front, and Ellen sobbed. "Go... we'll hold them off-"  
"Shhh...my baby, shhh." Ellen tried to wipe the blood off Jo's face, but only succeeded in spreading it around more. Her tears left clean tracks through her own blood and dirt on her face.  
Jo looked at Dean, and Sam knew that whatever she was going to say next would be her last words.  
"Dean- I-"  
But they never got to hear what Jo wanted to tell Dean.  
She gave one last, wet, racking cough, and fell still. Ellen stiffened, and then cried out. Sam's head emptied of whatever he had been thinking before.  
Jo.  
"Go!" Ellen croaked through her voice hoarse from crying. "Go! I'll hold them off as long as I can."  
Sam glanced at Dean, and there were tears running down his face. He looked at Sam,  
"Let's go, Sam."  
"No..."  
"Go!"  
Sam didn't look back as he and Dean bolted for the door, and as they crashed through it, they heard the other vampires barge into the room where they'd left Ellen and Jo, and he could hear every decibel of Ellen's screams as the vampire no doubt tore her apart.  
Dean sped on the way back to the Shurley's house, and Sam sat numb, not thinking, unable to say anything.  
When they returned, the blood covering their clothes, and the lack of the two women who'd gone with them was enough to tell Chuck and the others what had happened. Even the sight of Castiel didn't seem to cheer Dean up one bit.  
Sam silently handed over the syringe of Kate's blood to Chuck, who gave it to Amara, who started to prepare the cure.  
"Dean, what happened?" Castiel took Dean's hands as he sat down at the kitchen table, and Dean looked up at Castiel, tears still freely pouring.  
"Ellen and Jo are dead."


	9. All My Fault

\-- Castiel --  
Castiel couldn’t believe it.  
Ellen and Jo Harvelle were dead.  
And- as he sat there in the kitchen, still holding Dean’s hands, and staring at the floor- he realised-  
This is all my fault.  
I should’ve gone with them- I should’ve died instead of them. They went out there for me, and they didn’t come back. This is all my fault.  
Castiel didn't know when he'd started sobbing, but now he felt the full force of the tremors running through his body. Dean let go of his hands- but only to grip Castiel's shoulders and pull him towards him, into a tight embrace. Castiel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back from crying, but he couldn't.  
Somehow, through the tears, Castiel managed to choke out, "I'm sorry."  
"Hey, Cas. It's not your fault." Dean tried to reassure the trembling boy he held in his arms, and all Castiel could think of was Chuck holding him while he cried when his parents had been killed- but he knew his parents' deaths weren't his fault. "It's not your fault, Cas, alright?"  
Castiel pulled himself from Dean's gentle arms, and stared at him. "It is my fault, Dean! It's all my fault! Ellen and Jo went after those vampires because of me, and because of me, they never returned!" Castiel's voice had risen from the first word, and he was shouting at Dean now, his voice shaking badly, tears pouring, crying as much as he had when his parents had been slaughtered.  
Something flashed across Dean's expression- hurt, Castiel thought, and Castiel drew in a shuddering breath. He stood up, and tried not to look at any of the other hunters in the room, as he stormed to his bedroom. He looked back only once, at Dean, to see the young man he had developed such passionate feelings for, who was looking right back at him, with an expression that said I'm sorry, Cas.  
Castiel closed his door gently, not bothering to lock it, and after closing the windows and curtains, he lay down on his bed, staring at the wall, and felt himself sink inside himself, into the roiling darkness that had always held residence in the deepest pits of his chest, that he'd never tried to venture into, as if he knew he'd never be able to get out.  
\-- Sam --  
Sam watched as Castiel stormed to his bedroom after learning that the vampires who'd killed his family had also killed Ellen and Jo- and watched his brother's face as Castiel walked away from him. Dean had held Castiel tight while he'd wept, and only Sam had seen the look of love on Dean's face as the boy cried.  
Dean slumped back in his chair, his chin resting on his chest, closing his eyes. Sam looked up, around at the other hunters in the room, and the momentary silence was broken.  
Chuck cleared his throat.  
He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again.  
"I-" He started to speak, but then quieted, sinking down onto a chair.  
Amara placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, and through the tears that stained her cheeks, she said, her own voice wobbling, "We should go back to the barn, to retrieve Ellen and Jo's bodies. They need a hunter's funeral."  
Chuck looked up at her, and some communication passed between them in a look that Sam couldn't decipher, and he stood again. Sam watched as Chuck and Amara left, followed by Raphael.  
Michael remained in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.  
"Damn." he muttered. "The Harvelles were the best hunters I knew outside of our family. Bill Harvelle, Ellen's husband, was one of the best, before he died on a hunt- with your father, I believe- John Winchester."  
Sam stiffened. "What?"  
Michael looked at him. "Ellen's husband was killed on a hunt with your father. She blamed John, and for a long while, they didn't speak. Perhaps that's why she held some resentment for you and Dean, too. But no matter. This is a huge loss- not just that they were our friends, but two of the best hunters I've ever known, and now- who's going to run the Roadhouse?"  
"Isn't Ash Lowell still working there, though?" Sam said, and Michael nodded.  
"True." There was a long pause. "Damn."  
Michael was still shaking his head as he left the kitchen. Sam turned to Dean, to say something- he didn't know what- anything- something to break this awful silence that had fallen on them like a concrete blanket, and wouldn't budge- but Dean pushed back his chair with a loud, wrenching creak, and left the house- and now Sam was alone.  
The only ones left in the house were him- and Gabriel.  
He made his way to where he remembered Gabriel's bedroom was, and when he opened the door, Gabriel lay on his bed, sleeping fitfully. Sam, seeing the boy asleep and not wanting to wake him, turned to leave and close the door- but as his foot stepped back over the threshold, Gabriel muttered in his sleep,  
"Sam..."  
Sam froze where he stood, and he could hear his heart pounding erratically in his ears. A shaky feeling almost overwhelmed him, and he turned back around- Gabriel was still asleep, but one of his hands was stretched out over the side of his bed, as if reaching for something- or someone.  
Impulsively, he stepped back into the room, closing the door gently behind him. He walked around the side of the bed, careful not to make any noise, lest Gabriel awake, and carefully lifted the young vampire's hand from dangling off the side, to rest on the mattress. But when he went to withdraw his hand, Gabriel's fingers clamped tight around it, and he still muttered in his sleep,  
"Sam..."  
Sam drew up a chair to the side of Gabriel's bed, and sat there while the older boy held his hand through his sleep. Gabriel slept for a few hours more, and all the while, nobody came to find Sam- so he sat there, holding Gabriel's hand, watching the sleeping face of somebody he'd come to care about.  
\-- Dean --  
Dean stood out in the driveway of the Shurleys' home, leaning against the Impala's hood. He'd had a not-so-secret crush on Jo Harvelle for a long time- everyone, including Jo herself, had known it. Dean had planned to apologise to her if he'd pissed her off too much from trying to flirt with her- and then would have proceeded to flirt with her further- but he'd never have the chance now. He'd wanted to say sorry to Ellen about keeping his eyes on her daughter for so long- that he did actually care about her, and that he'd hoped they could at least be good friends, and hunt together sometime- because as difficult as Ellen was with trying to keep her daughter out of hunting, Jo was a very good hunter.  
Was.  
Dean would never be able to forget how Ellen screamed as the vampires attacked her. The image of Jo lying lifeless in her heartbroken mother's arms would always haunt his dreams- their faces would forever haunt him, as long as he lived.  
Along with the faces of all the other innocent people who'd died because of him. The death toll was climbing, and would only climb higher still.  
Sam's girlfriend, Jess. Dad. Pam. Charlie. Kevin. Sam's old friend Sarah. Now Ellen and Jo, too.  
More names to add to the Winchesters' list of deaths that are their fault. Dean knew that it wasn't just him that was to blame- but he wouldn't let Sammy take any of the fall for it. He'd always shoulder the full blame himself, and that was one of his great flaws. And he hated himself for it.  
Dean hated himself for many things. All those precious lives lost were only one thing on a list that would have been longer than Sam's height if he'd written it all down.  
He hated that he could be so weak at times- and hated showing weakness in front of Sam. He was supposed to protect Sam, but how on Earth could he do that if he couldn't protect anyone else.  
Castiel had gone to his own bedroom when Dean had got up from the table, but now Dean could hear him approaching. He looked up, expecting Castiel to come and stand by him, and let him lean on Cas' shoulder, tell him everything's alright- but though the boy acknowledged Dean's presence, he walked straight past him- then Dean noticed that he held a blade in his hands.  
\-- Castiel --  
Castiel saw Dean standing by Baby when he emerged from the house, and had half a thought to go over to him and try to comfort him like Dean had done for him earlier- because, even from a distance, Castiel could see that Dean was distraught, and probably did need cheering up too- but Castiel had a plan, and he was going to do it.  
Nobody would stop him. Not even Dean.  
Castiel hefted his machete, the first one he'd got, as a gift from Chuck, and strode fast on the path to the old barn. He wasn't sure whether the vampires would have moved from their after they were done with Ellen and Jo, but he'd check anyway. He didn't know whether Chuck and Amara would still be there, carefully collecting the two hunters' bodies.  
He didn't get much further through the trees, when a voice yelled from the path behind him,  
"Cas!"  
Castiel turned to see Dean sprinting for him. He stopped and stood still, waiting for Dean to catch up.  
"What are you doing, Cas?" Dean panted, bracing a hand against the trunk of a tree that stood nearby.  
"I'm going to find those vampires and I'm going to kill them all. And if I can't, I'll willingly give myself over to them. I can't do this anymore, sitting around in safety while I'm responsible for innocent deaths now."  
"You would sacrifice yourself?" Dean was horror-struck.  
"Dean, I hurt everyone around me, everyone I care about. This would not have happened- Johnny, Ellen and Jo wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for me. And if it wasn't for me, Gabriel would not have been turned into a vampire. He's my brother, and I endangered his life. You should leave, before you get hurt, too."  
Dean whirled, grabbing Castiel by the arm, pushing him up against the tree.  
"Don't you dare, don't you dare say that, Cas. Don't you dare. How the hell do you think your family would feel if you never came back from this hunt? How would Gabriel feel? He's your brother- they're your family. You can't just give up on your family."  
"I'm not giving up on them. I'm trying to protect them."  
"Getting yourself killed won't do them any favours. They love you, Cas. We all do. None of us- none of the Shurleys, and neither me nor Sam, would forgive you if you left us like that. I'd never forgive myself for letting you go. You're staying with us. You're not dying, you hear me? You're gonna fight, harder than you ever have before, okay? Stay with me, Cas. I care about you, more than you know."  
"I know you do, Dean. And thank you." Dean loosened his grip on Cas' arm, removing his arms from holding him in place- but only to move them to holding Castiel's face in his hands, and he kissed him. Though this was not the first time- not even the fifth time- that they had kissed, every time their lips met, Castiel felt the same rush all over again, as he had the first time. This was a feeling nobody else had ever made him feel, and this way that Dean made him feel was perfect. It made Castiel feel whole, complete.  
He'd previously wished that his parents had still been alive, so that he'd never have had to have this hunter's life- but now he realised, along with the fact that his family was truly gone, and would never come back- he also realised, that he would never have met Dean. And now that Dean was in his life, he couldn't imagine a life without him.  
\-- Gabriel --  
Gabriel awoke in the mid-afternoon, in his bed, with somebody holding his hand-  
Sam.  
Sam sat in a chair at his bedside, holding the hand that had drooped over the side- and he was dozing.  
Gabriel sat up, trying not to disturb Sam, but the movement stirred him.  
"Gabe, you're awake!"  
"What's going on?"  
"I just came into check on you, and you were muttering in your sleep. Your hand was dangling over the side of the bed, and I picked it up to place it back on your mattress- but then you wouldn't let go of it, so I decided to sit here for a while. I must have drifted off." Sam muttered, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.  
Gabriel felt a calm settle within him, quenching the sudden tenseness that had sprung up when he woke. Sam, with his eyes red from rubbing, the half-asleep expression on his face, was adorable. He hoped they'd still get to see each other, even when this was all over.  
There was a knock on the door- and a moment later, Amara called from the corridor.  
"Gabe, are you in there? Please come out, we all need to gather outside."  
Sam stood, slightly groggy with sleep, from his chair, and pulled Gabriel to his feet. Sam was first to the bedroom door, opening it- and Amara was still standing outside when both boys emerged. An expression of amusement crossed her face, and she raised one eyebrow at Gabriel. Sam turned bright red, and stuttering and coughing, said,  
"Oh-oh- it wasn't like- that. He-he was asleep- I- I was just sitting beside him."  
Amara grinned at Sam, clapping him on the shoulder,  
"Go get 'em, boy. I think you'd be good for Gabriel."  
To say that remark surprised Gabriel would be an understatement- he wasn't sure whether his father and his aunt would approve of him having a relationship with another man- but I guess, he thought, that's the least of our worries right now.  
The rest of the family was already gathered in the kitchen- Castiel and Dean were sitting on adjacent chairs at the dining table, and as he neared them to sit on an empty chair, he could feel their heartbeats- and they were quicker than everyone else's in the room. Like they'd been...busy.  
Gabriel decided not to ask.  
Chuck entered the room from outside, brushing off his palms on his trousers- sawdust falling to the floor, as if he'd just been chopping and moving around wood. He cleared his throat,  
"Amara and I have retrieved the Harvelles' bodies, and Michael and Raphael have just helped me build a pyre for them. Everyone, please- let's go outside to give them the funeral they deserve."  
What.  
Gabriel could hear a faint roar building up in the back of his head. He stood up- too quickly- his chair knocking to the floor.  
"Ellen and Jo are dead?!" He could barely recognise his own voice.  
"Oh, shoot, I forgot- you didn't know." Raphael glanced at Gabriel, a sympathetic look in his eyes.  
Balthazar, who sat across the table from Gabriel, his face a mask, unreadable- though Gabriel could almost feel the sorrow behind it- said,  
"They went with Sam and Dean earlier, to find the vampire who turned you- to get her blood so that we can make the cure for you- they didn't make it back."  
The roaring intensified.  
Chuck shifted into his defensive mode, and tried to look his son in the eye.  
"Gabriel, calm down."  
"Calm down- calm down?!" The rage escalated fast, and his whole was almost thrumming with it. "How can you ask me to calm down? Ellen and Jo are dead! We've lost two of this country's best hunters- because of me- and you want me to calm down? You should have just killed me as soon as I was turned, and this would be a whole lot less messy!"  
Sam, sitting on the chair next to Gabriel, turned to him, and took his hands- Gabriel snatched away from him, glaring. But Sam looked him steadily in the eye, unwavering, and took hold of Gabriel's hands again.  
"Look at me." he insisted. "Look at me, Gabriel."  
Gabriel couldn't resist the boy's hazel eyes- and despite all that had suddenly occurred, he felt the anger within him boil down- slowly.  
"Gabriel, please, for all our sakes, just take it easy. It's not your fault you were turned- you were just trying to help your brother, and no one can blame you for that. It's not your fault that Ellen and Jo are dead." Sam looked around at the other hunters in the room, and stared pointedly at Castiel for few moments longer than everybody else. "Nobody in this room holds the blame for their deaths. It is solely on the vampires." Sam turned back to Gabriel. "Ellen and Jo chose to do this, they chose to go and help find the blood of the one who turned you, because they are your friends and they care about you, and they wanted to help cure you. They knew that there was a possibility that they might not come back. All hunters know that. It's the oldest rule in the book for hunters- you can't save everyone."  
\-- Castiel --  
Ellen and Jo's bodies were laid together on the same pyre, a large stack of logs carefully assembled. They had been wrapped delicately in white sheets, and Castiel couldn't bring himself to look at them. Close by the pyre was a small campfire, already burning strongly. Each hunter present took it in turns to lower a stick to the small fire, and set alight the pyre. By the time Castiel, the last in the line, had laid his torch to it, it was already glowing with crimson flames that reached a couple of metres up.  
The hunters circled the pyre, each offering a word of respect, of sorrow, of apology.  
"Ellen. Jo." Castiel muttered, quiet enough that only he could hear. "I'm so sorry. I'll never stop being sorry. Even if Sam says it's not anyone else's fault, I'll always blame myself."  
I'm so sorry.


	10. Together.

\-- Gabriel --  
How many days had it been now?  
Gabriel had lost count.  
The instinctive hunger tore at his insides like a werewolf tearing apart a body, and it had begun to mess with his head. Sam had offered him a plastic bag of cow blood, to try and keep him sustained, but Gabriel refused. He'd been told that it was only human blood that would prevent the cure from working, but he didn't want to risk it- and besides, he'd overheard from the other vampires that animal blood tasted absolutely vile.  
Even tall, long-haired, adorable hazel-eyed Sam Winchester couldn’t persuade Gabriel to feed. It felt as if all the acid in his stomach was eating away at his insides, and would soon consume him- he felt as though if the cure wasn’t prepared asap, he’d die of hunger- and what a mess they’d all still be in.  
He wondered whether if- when, he had to be positive- he took the cure, assuming it worked- whether the hunger would still remain. Gabriel wasn’t sure even a thousand beef burgers or a hundred tons of sweets could sate the hunger that was slowly taking over him.  
Gabriel had spent the last couple of days inside the house, not stepping foot outside even once- while Amara prepared the vampirism cure. She was the most skilled in the family at making potions (that didn’t require magic) and preparing antidotes and cures for things that were curable like vampirism.  
He guessed he was lucky that he was a vampire and not something else- like a werewolf- which was incurable.  
The day sped on, the light merging into dark, the sun sinking behind the horizon- and someone finally knocked on his bedroom door. He didn’t have to call to know who it was- he had learned Sam’s presence by now, and could feel it as if Sam had his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. He shot to his feet from where he’d been sitting against the bare wall, facing the locked windows that were covered by his curtains. He opened the door, about to speak, when Sam said,  
“Amara has succeeded in making the cure.” Sam firmly grasped Gabriel’s hand, staring him dead in the eye. “I know we’ve already warned you, but I’ll do so again just to be sure- this cure has worked before, so it’s very likely to work for you, but there will be painful side effects. You could be sick for days- but it’s extremely unlikely that it will kill you. If you’re lucky, your side effects will be few.”  
“If I’m lucky?” To say Gabriel felt alarmed at that would be an understatement.  
“Come on.” Sam tugged on Gabriel’s hand, pulling him out of his bedroom, along the corridor and into the kitchen, where the rest of the family was already present. He felt like a performer walking onto a stage, with everyone’s eyes on him- they expected this to run smoothly, with no mistakes.  
Gabriel just hoped that Amara’s potion skills hadn’t failed her today. There was a bowl on the kitchen counter, filled with a dark red substance, with specks of something in it- this was the cure. Amara took the syringe that lay next to the bowl, and filled it to the top, turning to Gabriel finally.  
“It’ll be okay, Gabriel. Don’t be afraid.” Sam whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek briefly before joining Dean.  
Gabriel thought it was funny that his whole family- Chuck, and all his siblings, both blood-siblings and adopted, and Sam and Dean- were here- this wasn’t some spectacle, some show. But then Gabriel realised a few hunters would be needed to restrain him if anything went wrong- they really were preparing for the worst. The Winchesters had no idea what would happen if the cure didn’t work- it had worked on Dean, and that was the only time they’d ever seen it used- so they’d never experienced it fail.  
He’d never really believed in God, or religion before- but Gabriel suddenly found himself praying. Please, let this work. Let this work. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be a vampire. I just want to get through this in one piece. I want my brother Castiel to get his revenge- that’s all I want- to help him.  
He could have sworn that the breeze that swept through the open windows in the kitchen in the next moment were an answer to that prayer.  
“Are you ready, Gabriel?” Amara held up the syringe, and gestured for Gabriel to sit down on the chair beside him. He obliged, and Amara pushed up his sleeve, bracing the point of the needle against his skin.  
“Yes. I want this to be over. Please.”  
Without any more hesitation, his aunt pushed the needle into his arm, pressing down firmly on the plunger, and Gabriel cried out in the sudden pain. He could feel the liquid seeping into his system, battling with whatever inside him made him vampire- and he could feel every bit of the agony that spread through him. He cried out again- almost a scream, and he saw Castiel out of the corner of his eye clenching his fists, as if he too could feel his adopted brother’s pain. He watched as Dean clasped his hand tightly over Castiel’s own shaking hands, caressing his palm with a thumb. He knew what it was like, didn’t he- he’d been a vampire before, he’d been cured, he’d felt was Gabriel was feeling now. Gabriel gripped hard the arms of the chair, his nails digging hard into the faded wood, almost to the point of breaking, his head dipped to his chest, breathing hard through his teeth, trying to block out the pain. Sam’s hand found its place on his shoulder- and a moment later the pain was gone- replaced by overwhelming nausea.  
Gabriel tore from the room, making a beeline for the bathroom, violently throwing up the contents of his empty stomach. Trying to steady himself on his shaky legs, he stood and washed his face. Sam was beside him, clutching his hand to steady him, and led him back to his room, to lie down on the bed.  
“How do you feel?” Sam’s voice helped calm the pain and the nausea that had overpowered him, and he felt more relaxed.  
“Like hell. Has the cured worked?”  
“I don’t know, you tell me.” Sam stepped back as Gabriel sat slowly down on the bed, reaching for his mouth, feeling for the fangs. He ran a finger along his gum, and was sure he’d missed the bump where the fangs retracted were kept- and then realised they were gone.  
They were gone.  
The next thing Gabriel realised was that he could no longer hear the pulses and the heartbeats of Sam and the others near him. He could no longer smell their blood- the lack of that was bliss to him. He hadn’t thought he’d be free from this disease- but he was- Gabriel was no longer a vampire- he was human again.  
“Sam- Sammy- they’re gone.” The young man, a monster no longer, grinned at the hunter, taking him by the shoulders, kissing him. “I’m not a vampire anymore, Sam!”  
The smile that spread across Sam’s face was one like Gabriel had never seen before- he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone that happy. The taller boy pulled him tight into a hug- a hug that meant more than any kiss they’d ever shared. He felt Sam’s nose rub on his shoulder, holding him as close as they could get, and a laugh escaped him.  
\-- Castiel --  
Three days later  
Breakfast had cleared up that morning, and there were no hunts for the Shurley family today- none of them wanted to leave the house while Gabriel was on the mend. Few people had visited Gabriel during the three days after Amara had given him the cure- he was incredibly ill- violently sick a few times, and came right to Death's threshold more than once- and Castiel had been absolutely terrified out of his wits that Gabriel wouldn't make it back. He'd already lost his whole blood family- he didn't want to lose any of his adopted family, either. Though he'd wanted badly to sit by his brother's side every minute of every day while he healed, Gabriel preferred to suffer through it alone- didn't even let Sam in his room. Castiel had thought it was because he was ashamed for anyone to see him in such a state- only Chuck and Amara were allowed in.  
"Cas." Someone shook him awake from where he'd fallen asleep on the kitchen table. It wasn't Dean, no- Dean had gone outside to make a call to Bobby. It was- he recognised the voice- it was- it was- Gabe.  
"Gabe!" Castiel leapt from his seat, stumbling with groggyness, almost knocking his brother over. "You're okay! You're- you're not a vampire anymore?"  
"No. I'm not. The cure worked. I owe one to the Campbells for coming up with that. I'd be screwed if it wasn't for them."  
"Gabe, son?" Chuck had entered the kitchen, and seeing his youngest son alive and well had brightened up his face, from a worried frown into the happiest smile Castiel had ever seen. Amara at the same time emerged from her bedroom, and charged at Gabriel, wrapping him in a bear hug. With Chuck encircling the both of them, and Michael and Raphael joining in, they looked to Castiel like the perfect little family, and for a moment he felt a pang of loneliness deep in his heart- he'd never have this hug with his family- with his real family.  
"Cas, come here." It was Gabriel, inviting him to join in their great family hug- and Castiel shook his head. "Come on, Cassie. How many times do I have to tell you? You are a part of our family- the Shurleys aren't the Shurleys without you, dammit."  
Balthazar stood from his own seat next to Castiel, and him and Hannah each took an arm and hauled Castiel up, leading him over. Michael clapped Castiel on the back, engulfing him in the embrace, and Castiel couldn't help the laugh of joy that escaped him.  
"So what now?" Castiel couldn't help asking.  
"We hunt down those bloodsuckers and we end them once and for all." Dean, reentering the kitchen. He stuffed his phone in his jacket pocket and slapped a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "You've waited too long to avenge your family. They won't back down, so we have to take them out. You ready?"  
"Damn straight." Gabriel called. "I'm more than ready to go gank those bitches for turning me."  
Castiel glanced across the hug at Gabriel, grinning. "So am I. I've done my waiting- sixteen years of it, in the best family of hunters I've ever known. I'm so glad to be a part of your lives- I'm so glad you're all a part of mine. I often try to imagine what my life would've been like if all of this had never happened- if my family had never been killed. I'd have grown up a normal kid, gone to school and then college- I'd have watched my little sister, Claire, grow up and go to school." he smiled, more to himself than anyone else. "I'd have watched her get into fights with her classmates, and probably have to come to her school myself to take her out and calm her down- she was only two when she was murdered, but I know that's what she'd have been like. You'd never have believed she was only two if you'd known her and her feisty attitude. But- there's no point thinking about it now. Wherever they are, I know they're happy- and now I'm going to make them proud."  
"You said it, kiddo. Let's do this!" Raphael was the first to break the hug, snatching up his weapons from nearby, and the whole family followed suit, filing out of the door, into three cars- Dean, Sam, Castiel and Gabriel took the Impala together, Dean sitting shotgun- letting Castiel drive. Castiel didn't really understand why this was so important- Sam had raised his eyebrows at Dean handing the keys over to Castiel, telling him 'You drive.', Castiel hadn't understood Sam's surprise- except that the Impala was Dean's prized possession- so he guessed he must really be special if he was allowed to drive.  
The barn where it all started was their destination. As the afternoon Kansas sun made its journey across the sky, the party of hunters made their own journey- to where this one would end. Castiel was surprised by himself that he managed to keep relatively still throughout the journey, managed to keep his hands firmly on the wheel, when he was so full of nerves and anticipation that he could hardly think straight.  
This is it. This is the moment of truth.  
The barn door was open a fraction, still-drying blood from the last several days splattered on the outside wall- and inside, too. Castiel supposed some of the blood on the floor as they entered was Ellen and Jo's- no. No, he couldn't let himself think about that now.  
Keep them in your thoughts. You're doing this for them, too.  
For Jimmy. For Amelia. For Claire. For Johnny. For Jo. For Ellen.  
Six lives they'd known, had these vampires taken. But they would take no more.  
The first one was a few feet away from Castiel as he rounded a corner, Dean, Balthazar and Hannah keeping close behind him, and with a great yell- a battlecry- he threw himself forward, using the momentum to swing his blade, his first blade, through the vampire's neck. He didn't care if all the vampires in the barn heard him. Let them.  
He was ready.  
\-- Sam --  
Sam took the opposite end of the barn to Dean and Castiel, along with Gabriel, Michael and Raphael- the rest of the family was spread across the barn- no bloodsuckers would be escaping this time. There were voices up ahead- the room beyond them, Sam assumed it was the same one in which Gabriel had been taken, in which he had been turned. Gabriel had been sure Alex, the leader of the vampire nest, would be in there, with at least three others.  
Alex turned his head as Sam opened the door, letting Gabriel step through. Their weapons were hidden behind their backs, they advanced slowly forwards.  
"You finally returned. What have you been doing? All I know is that Kate was killed, and we had a great feast with those two female hunters your family left behind for us. I'm sad you couldn't join us. But I see you've brought us an even greater meal. Your own family, your own boyfriend?"  
"There'll be no more meals for you, Alex." Gabriel hissed, drawing his machete, at which the vampire leader's eyes widened.  
"Don't be stupid. You still have to feed- by your healthier look, you must have fed by now- just hand them over to me, and I'll put them down for you, if you don't have the stomach to."  
"I think you're misunderstanding this situation. You're right though, I don't have the stomach to. I don't have the stomach for blood- not any longer."  
"What are you talking about?" Alex began to advance on the group of hunters clustered close together, his associates on his tail.  
"To put it clearly for you, I'm no longer a vampire."  
"But- how? That's impossible."  
"Apparently not." Gabriel bared his teeth at Alex, showing that his fangs were gone. "There is a cure."  
Something changed in the vampire's eyes, something Sam might have called emotion, if he wasn't sure that this vampire was much older than them- had forgotten humanity. Almost- regret.  
"A cure?" Alex lowered his hands, and Sam could have sworn he saw sadness in his eyes. He almost felt pity for him- but the next moment, he remembered what these vampires had done. What they had done to Gabriel and what they had taken away from Castiel.  
"You don't get one, you big bag of dicks." Gabriel growled. "The cure only works if you haven't fed on human blood. And you've fed for the last time."  
Gabriel didn't wait for a reply, only swung his blade as Alex opened his mouth and started to shout. The vampire's head, still set in that shout, rolled clean from his shoulders, hitting the dusty, bloody floor with a sickening thud. The young hunter looked back at Sam, raising his free hand for a high five, and turned back to the remaining vampires with a mixed look of triumph and bloodlust in his eyes. He gave a great yell and charged for them, Sam by his side.


	11. All In The Family

\-- Dean --  
The days after Dean and Sam had helped the Shurleys clear out that vampire nest for good, were days like Dean had never experienced before. The sheer elation coursing through the house, passing between every hunter under the roof, was so incredible, so uplifting, that it almost made him forget the horrors of what they did for a living. Dean had lost count of how many days or weeks he’d known Cas now- for in how little time they may have known each other, he’d never seen someone so- no, not happy, that wasn’t the right word. Cas’ family were gone and they weren’t ever coming back, and the blue-eyed boy had accepted that. No- what he was feeling was relief- relief and satisfaction. Dean had seen few hunters get their revenge, and fewer still feel satisfied and their minds at rest after they had- in fact, Castiel was the first one.  
The Winchesters had been sleeping in the Impala, not wanting to intrude on the Shurleys despite having formed such close bonds with them- but both Chuck and Amara insisted that they sleep under a proper roof, in proper beds- Gabriel’s aunt had dug up two disassembled beds from somewhere in the basement and built them back up herself for them- and since there were no spare rooms, one went in Gabriel’s room, and one in Castiel’s, for Sam and Dean respectively. Though they barely knew the Winchesters, despite how famous they were, they trusted them so wholeheartedly- they had become a second family to the orphaned young men.  
On this particular day, the winter was still in full swing, and it had snowed overnight, leaving everything outside covered in a blanket of white- when Dean got up that morning, he was suddenly glad that they hadn’t slept in the Impala overnight, because even with heating they’d probably have become Winchester popsicles by sunrise. He thought he was the first awake, but the smell of wood smoke from the dining/sitting room told him otherwise. He wasn’t sure who to expect, but when he trudged into the room bleary-eyed, trying to clear the sleep away, the belt of his dressing-gown trailing on the floor- he saw a head of messy black hair and knew it was Cas. He’d been so tired when we awoke that he hadn’t noticed that Cas wasn’t in his bed.  
“Hey, Cas.” Dean’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t help but wince. Loudly clearing his throat, he tried again, “Cas-”  
“Have you caught a cold, Dean?” the young hunter finally turned to him, and the smile on his face was warm enough to melt the snow outside. “You sound terrible.”  
“Yeah, I guess so. There must be a draft in our- your room.” Dean caught himself, sniffling, and clamped his lips together to avoid saying anything else. Castiel gave him a strange look, but shook it off and embraced his boyfriend. “Is it early in the morning? No one else is awake yet.”  
“I don’t think it’s that early, but the previous weeks have exhausted us all and Chuck hasn’t been passed any jobs. Can you cook at all? I wanted to make pancakes for everyone, but I’m hopeless at it.” Castiel drew back, gazing at Dean, for so long he almost felt uncomfortable.  
“Um, I think so. I might not look like that kind of person, but I’ve developed a skill for cooking over the years while our dad was still alive- he was always out on hunts and never had time to prepare us anything, so I taught myself to cook so that I could feed myself and Sammy. A necessity for survival.” Dean shrugged, turning away from Castiel, venturing towards the stove.  
Castiel began rummaging around the cupboards behind, while Dean picked up a frying pan that had been left on the draining board, squirting olive oil from a plastic bottle that had been left at the side of the stove. A bag of flour was dumped next to the stove, and puffs of the white powder settled on the kitchen surface.  
“Careful, Cas. You’ll get flour everywhere. Why don’t you help me with this- pass me the ingredients while I put them all together? You can help me mix it, if you want.” Dean reached to take the bag of sugar in Castiel’s hands before he almost dropped it, and set it carefully next to the bag of flour. Castiel handed him a spoon, and Dean began scooping out generous amounts of flour and sugar into a large glass mixing bowl that was covered in scratches. Without being asked to, Cas padded to the fridge and sought out the eggs- there was a full dozen box, just enough. He took out one of the eggs, tapping on the edge of the mixing bowl, and cracked it smoothly in half, the egg yolk landing in the mass of flour and sugar, the white dripping after it. The edges of the eggshell were sharp, and Cas almost cut his finger on it, but he carefully scooped up the small shards that had scattered, and dumped them in the food waste bin that sat next to the sink.  
"Hey, Cas, pass me the-" Dean turned from wiping stray grains of sugar off the surface, about to ask Cas for the eggs- but the young hunter was already busy whisking.  
"I said I was hopeless at pancakes, but I do know how to whisk eggs, Dean." Cas didn't take his eyes off his small mixing bowl, but Dean saw the smirk on his face clearly. He wielded the whisk in his hands as easily as he wielded a dagger, swiftly beating the eggs into a bright yellow liquid. With a satisfied look on his face, he handed the beaten eggs to Dean, and his sapphire eyes sparkled with an intensity that made Dean's heart leap in his chest.  
He dumped the eggs into the larger mixing bowl, and within another couple of minutes, the first pancake was sizzling in the pan.  
Soft footsteps behind them announced the arrival of a third hunter awake.  
"Thought I could smell pancakes." Gabriel's voice rang out in the quiet room, full of energy.  
"Dude, you just got out of bed but you sound like you're ready to run a hundred miles. How much sugar do you eat?" Cas frowned at his brother, beginning to set the table as Dean was finishing the first batch of pancakes.  
"Well, perhaps being a vampire gave him a little more strength to resist a heart attack that he surely should have had already. I can't believe your teeth are still so healthy with all the sweets you eat." Sam followed into the dining room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He sat himself heavily into the chair beside Gabriel, who had already helped himself to a pancake and was busy pouring a lavish serving of syrup over it- Sam swiped the bottle from his hands before he could drain it, much to Gabriel's dismay. "Seriously, Gabe. You're gonna make yourself sick."  
By the time Dean had produced two more batches of pancakes, the rest of the family were seated at the table, all still in their pyjamas. Dean watched from his position comfortably close to Cas, the hunters who had become so important to him. Gabriel tried to reach for a second bottle of syrup that had been brought out, but Anna grabbed it before he could get it, sticking her tongue out at him. Bartholomew and Malachi, sitting next to each other, were arguing with Michael, who was on Malachi's other side, over the last pancake on the plate nearest to them. Dean noticed Chuck observing how close he and Cas sat to each other, and almost moved a little apart, but then Chuck gave him a warm smile, saying,  
"Thank you, Dean. For helping Castiel. And you too, Sam, for helping Gabriel. I don't know how we'd have done this without you guys. Here's to our hunter family." Chuck raised his mug of coffee to salute everyone around the dining table, just as a sharp rap sounded at the front door- the whole room fell silent.  
"Are we expecting anyone?" Amara looked at her brother, and when he shook his head, she rose from the table to answer the door.  
All heard the door opening, and felt the breeze of icy wind from outside- after a couple of moments, Dean was about to call for Amara to close the door, but he heard it click- Amara reappeared, looking like she'd seen a ghost.  
"Amara? What is it?" Chuck rose from his seat, just as a tall young man with sandy hair and faint burn scars on his face walked in.  
\-- Gabriel --  
The loud clatter of Michael's knife sounded amplified in the room that had gone silent as death. Gabriel couldn't believe his eyes- he was really here?  
"Lucifer?" The second oldest Shurley son shot from his chair, his eyes wide at the sight of his estranged older brother. "What are you doing here? How do you have the courage to come back here after how you left?"  
The eldest Shurley son raised his hands in defence, "Please, Michael. I've come on peaceful terms. I know it's been ten years since I've left, and I've been busy in those years. I haven't, not for one day, forgotten what happened- what I said. I've been hunting- I found a small coven of witches who were using their magic for good- helping hunters fight monsters. I've been working with them for a few years now. The eldest, about 300 years old or something, is skilled in scrying, and he saw you all in a vision. Since the moment I walked out this door, I've wanted to apologise for what I said and did, Dad, but could never work up the courage till now. I'm sorry it took ten years."  
Gabriel watched as his oldest brother, with tears- those were actual tears- in his eyes, approached his father. Chuck's expression had hardened, with pain in his eyes, and stayed glued in his seat. For a moment, Gabriel thought Chuck was going to ignore his son, and Lucifer would walk out again- but instead he knelt in front of his father, bowing his head.  
"Dad. I'm asking you to forgive me. If you can't, that's okay, and I'll leave again. But I've learned my lesson these past ten years- I've learned the true meaning of family. The witches I hunt with have become family to me, and they helped give me the strength to come back here and apologise." Lucifer's voice was strained, and cracked on the last few words.  
For a long, horrible moment, Chuck said nothing, and Gabriel was afraid that he would push his eldest son away. God knew they'd all been hurt when Lucifer had left, the bad terms that he had left on making them all hope they'd never see him again. But it had been ten years- and so much had happened in that ten years- Gabriel wasn't sure if his other siblings had moved past it, but he knew that he himself had long since done so. He'd missed his brother, and would give anything now for just a hug.  
Chuck heaved a great sigh, and took a deep breath- Gabriel almost thought he was going to tell Lucifer to leave- but he simply said,  
"My son." One hand reached forward and laid gently on Lucifer's shoulder- at that touch, the man kneeling let out a small sob, bowing his head even further. The father's other hand followed suit, gripping his son, pulling him up to stand.  
Chuck pushed back his chair, and embraced his son tightly.  
"Lucifer, my son." he murmured. "I'm sorry for throwing you out like that. I'm your father, I should never have treated you such. We're family and we always will be."  
"Even if you don't want to accept us as your family, we'll be happy to call you ours, Lucifer." Malachi stood from his seat, walking around the table to put his arms around the man who had looked on him with jealousy and anger ten years earlier. "Your father took Bartholomew and I in, and we'd probably be dead today if he hadn't, so we owe him our lives."  
Bartholomew followed Malachi's gestures, wrapping his arms around the group. It was like canon- slowly Anna followed, and then Balthazar and Hannah, then Castiel- then the original Shurley brothers followed, Amara after them- leaving only Sam and Dean to the side, watching the family hugging each other tightly, an occasional sob escaping one of them.  
\-- Sam --  
Watching the family reunion at breakfast had a struck a chord deep within Sam's heart- he would never admit it to anyone, but it hurt him to see this huge family all hugging and crying with each other, because it reminded him of all the family he'd lost. Mum and Dad were both gone, along with Charlie, Kevin, all the hunters and non-hunters they'd met along the way who'd become family to them- all he had left were Dean and Bobby, with Gabriel as a recent addition.  
Chuck and Amara insisted that Sam and Dean were a part of the Shurley family now, and the Winchester brothers agreed that they felt part of it- but it still felt strange and new to them both. Once everyone had calmed down, the father of the household invited Lucifer to sit down and eat with them, giving him the last pancake on the table. Once he'd eaten, Lucifer was bombarded with questions about what he'd done in the ten years he'd been away, with Sam and Dean taking part too.  
At Sam's first question, Lucifer's eyes widened, and he exclaimed,  
"Sam- Sam Winchester? And that must be your brother Dean? I can't believe I'm talking to you two, you're legends in the hunter's community. I've heard so much about you two- the boys who survived Azazel, and now, it seems, the boys who have stolen two of my brothers' hearts."  
Sam could feel himself go red at that last comment, and glanced at Gabriel to see him looking away. Dean went tomato-bright, and Cas looked down at his hands, fiddling- Lucifer chuckled.  
"Cas, good to see you're still your awkward, shy self." Lucifer leaned across the table, and at first Sam thought he was going to shake hands with him or something- but then he laid a hand on his adopted brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry I wasn't more welcoming to you when you arrived in this family. I heard you finally got your revenge though, I'm really happy for you. I've never heard any case of a hunter getting their revenge and feeling satisfied with it."  
There was a long pause, as the eldest Shurley son seemed to be thinking something through, debating whether to say it-  
"Cas. How would you like to see your family again?"  
\-- Castiel --  
Cas wasn't sure whether he'd heard Lucifer correctly- his family?  
"My family's dead, Lucifer. Nothing can bring them back."  
"Right- I can't literally bring them back. I would if I could- but I can summon them here, so you can speak with them."  
"You- you can really do that?" Cas could feel his voice shaking.  
Lucifer only nodded, and Cas reached over, gripping his hand tightly.  
"Thank you, Lucifer. I want that more than anything."


	12. The Final Goodbye

\-- Gabriel --  
The first thought Gabriel had was that this was a trick.  
Lucifer had never had an aptitude for magic, even though he’d tried to study it.  
Lucifer let go of Cas’ hand and faced everyone again,  
“The witches I have been staying with taught me a little about magic, and a few basic spells- it has taken me ten years to learn them. Some people are born with magic, some are given it by demons, others have to learn it- and it seems I do have a little bit of skill for magic. The head of the little coven I’ve been with, Rowan, taught me how to summon the spirits of the dead. He helped me when trying it for the first time, so it was easier and stronger then, but this time I’ll have to do it myself, so I don’t think it’ll last as long- but we can try.”  
Amara stood up from the kitchen table, beginning to clear away the breakfast plates while Balthazar assisted, and asked Lucifer,  
“What do you need? I may have it stored away with my potion ingredients.”  
“If I remember correctly, this spell needs apple, bay laurel and lavender incense to calm the spirits and facilitate the connection with the spirit world, asphodel to attract them, cypress oil and thyme- and we need a brew of chervil and mugwort tea to communicate with them. This ritual would be best carried out outside, by a yew tree for the best connection, since the yew tree is considered connected to the spirit world.” Lucifer answered.  
Amara pondered for a moment on the list Lucifer had supplied and replied “There’s a little yew tree I planted not far from the house for such purposes as this. And I should have the ingredients tucked away in the basement- Gabriel, why don’t you help Lucifer look for them?”  
“Sure.” Gabriel got up from his seat after licking the last of the syrup off his plate and beckoned to Lucifer to follow him.

“So, Gabe, how’s it all going- how are you feeling?” Lucifer glanced sideways at Gabriel as they descended the steps into the basement, and Gabriel glanced away. He was still surprised that his estranged brother was showing concern in his eyes.  
“What, you mean after being a vampire?”  
“That, and everything else.”  
“Though my vampirism was very short-lived, it still left an emotional scar on me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that experience. I mean, Johnny, Ellen and Jo are dead because of me. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”  
“Gabe, you can’t think like that. I knew them all well even while away from the family, and I know they’d forgive you. Cas also blames himself for their deaths- you’ve both got to support each other now, don’t let your guilt weigh you down. It wasn’t your fault, they came along to save you because they wanted to- because they were your friends and they cared about you. They’d been hunters for most of their lives, so they knew full well the risks they were taking. Remember the oldest rule of hunting: you can’t save everyone.”  
“Didn’t expect to get such a speech from the guy who walked out on us ten years ago, but thanks, Luci. I suppose we’ve all changed.” Gabriel shook off the hand Lucifer put on his shoulder, and made straight for one of the large oak cupboards in the basement, the one he knew Amara kept all her potion supplies in. He supposed they were lucky that his aunt was always so well-organised; all the ingredients they needed were in the same place. Gabriel handed half of the ingredients to Lucifer to carry, and took the other half himself, returning to the kitchen once he’d closed the cupboard door.

\-- Castiel --  
Castiel wasn’t sure how to feel as the family gathered by the yew tree outside the house, shivering despite the warmth. Dean stood silently beside him, holding tightly onto his hand, his presence comforting. He was both nervous and impatient at the thought of seeing his family again, even if would only be temporary.  
“You okay, Cas?” Dean’s fanfiction-green eyes sparkled with concern, and Cas tried to look away, but Dean’s firm grip gave him confidence.  
“I don’t know. My family’s been dead for sixteen years, Dean, and I’m about to talk to them again. I’m just trying to wrap my head around that.”  
“Well, just remember, Cas, that you are not alone.”

While Lucifer mixed the ingredients in a large silver bowl on the ground in front of the tree, Amara emerged from the house, carrying a large steaming kettle and a stack of mismatched mugs. As she handed out the mugs, she poured a little of the tea into each, and the strange scent caused Castiel to sneeze loudly, making Dean chuckle.  
“Are you all ready for this?” Lucifer stood, addressing the group. “The stuff in your mugs is chervil and mugwort tea- I warn you, it won’t taste nice, but it will allow us to see the spirits. Once I’ve performed the spell, you can drink it, and as long as the spell is strong enough to hold, we should have at least a few minutes.”  
“I’m ready, Lucifer.” Castiel answered, locking eyes with his brother.

Lucifer turned away, and Castiel watched as he began to chant something in Latin. He knew enough of it to pick out words like ‘I summon’, ‘spirits’, ‘underworld’, but he couldn’t understand exactly what it was Lucifer was saying. Just as he began to think this ritual would never end, his brother stopped chanting and drank from his cup of tea, prompting the rest of them to follow suit.  
For a few moments, nothing happened, and Castiel began to worry that the spell hadn’t worked- but then three shimmering silver shapes flickered at the base of the yew tree. Castiel blinked once, twice, and suddenly three spirits materialised, whose faces he hadn’t forgotten, even in sixteen years.

Claire still looked like a two-year-old, even though she’d be eighteen now. The thought of that- all the lost time, brought tears to Cas’ eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop them spilling.  
“Castiel.” His mother, Amelia. He never thought he’d hear her voice again, the last memory of it being only screams of terror and agony. The sound of it, gentle and calm, with not a trace of fear, brought on a flood of tears, and then Castiel was openly sobbing.  
Jimmy took a step forward, to try and embrace his son, but his hands phased through Cas’ body.  
“Castiel. We are so proud of you.”  
“Cassie.” Claire mumbled, reaching her toddler’s arms towards her older brother, and Castiel kneeled so that his face came level with hers. No matter how hard he fought it, he couldn’t stop the visions of the last time he’d seen his little sister, lying in a deep sleep, soaked in her own blood.  
“Claire, look at you. God, I miss you. You should be eighteen now, you should be at college, you should be sassing your teachers and acing all your classes. I’m so sorry.”  
“Castiel, none of this was your fault. We miss you, too, but we have been watching over you these past sixteen years as often as we could. We have seen what you now do for other people. Though we would never have wanted your life to turn out like this, we are proud of you. You have saved lives.” Amelia clasped Jimmy and Claire’s hands, and they formed a circle around Castiel. “We will always be in your heart, Cas. We will always love you. But now you have others who love you, you still have the rest of your life ahead of you. I regret deeply that we can’t be there with you, but we’ll always be watching over you. Live for us, Castiel.”  
Jimmy opened his mouth to say something else, but his form flickered, and began to fade, already, too soon. Amelia and Claire also seemed to realise they were fading, and the three of them gathered as close to Castiel as they could, their heads bowed.  
“Love you, Cassie.” Claire murmured softly before she faded, followed by Jimmy and Amelia.

Cas let out another loud, sob, and immediately felt Dean’s warm arms wrap around him, He turned and buried his face in Dean’s shoulder, letting all his grief pour out in one go.  
“’s okay, Cas. I got you.” Dean’s grip tightened, and Castiel was glad for it, even though it hurt a little.

\-- Sam --  
The next morning was misty, the dawn having just breached the horizon. Sam couldn’t sleep, the bed he occupied in Gabriel’s room too warm. He stood and made for the door, trying not to wake Gabriel, but as the door creaked open, a voice croaked,  
“Where you going, Sammy?” Gabriel coughed as he sat up, his hair sticking up in odd places.  
“Couldn’t sleep. You can go back to sleep, Gabe, I’m just going to the kitchen.”  
“’kay. Night, Sammy.” The only other sound Sam heard from him was a soft thud as Gabriel’s head hit the pillow again.

Dean was already up, sitting at the kitchen table on the phone to someone, as Sam entered. He seemed engrossed in his conversation, and when he spotted Sam, he said,  
“Okay, gotta go. Thanks for the offer, Bobby, see you later.” Dean lowered the phone from his ear, turning to his brother. Sam could see the weariness in eyes, but didn’t comment on it. “Hey, there, Sammy. Couldn’t sleep either?”  
“Nope.” Sam sat down heavily in the chair next to Dean. “What were you calling Bobby about?”  
“Oh, he just called to check up on us, ask how our business with the Shurleys was going- I told him everything that’s happened. He told me he’s got one of his hunting cabins free, if we want to use it for a while.” Dean paused, seeming to mull over his next words, as if choosing them carefully. “I was thinking of asking Cas if he wanted to come stay with us- you could ask Gabriel, too.”  
“Ask them to move in with us?” Sam felt himself stutter. “That’s a big thing to ask them. Do you know if Cas would want to come?”  
“Come where?” Castiel’s sleepy voice drifted into the kitchen, making Sam and Dean both start in their chairs, and whirl to face him.  
“Uh…” Dean seemed lost for words, mesmerised by the other hunter’s messy black hair. “Bobby’s got one of his hunting cabins free for me and Sam to use, but it’s got enough space for four people to stay. Do you- would you- want to come stay with us there for a while? You and Gabriel, maybe?”  
Cas’ eyes widened, and for a moment Sam thought he would say no- and Dean’s face looked so hopeful, that he didn’t want to see his older brother rejected. But Sam had watched them ever since they had become intimate, and it almost seemed to him as though they were destined for each other. It was like Cas was an angel from heaven, sent to guard Dean and protect him from his own demons- the darkness that usually gnawed at his brother hadn’t reared its ugly head since Dean had met Cas, and though he wasn’t religious, Sam felt obligated to thank whatever god was up there for bringing them together.  
But Cas’ frown brightened into a smile that Sam knew would make his brother’s heart leap. Gabriel’s smiles, though more mischievous than Cas’, always made Sam’s own heart jump in his chest.  
“Dean, I would love that. Are you sure? You might not want me around forever, I have a tendency to get people I care about hurt.”  
“Nonsense.” Dean stood up fast from his chair, striding to Castiel and pulling him into a bear hug. “You won’t get me hurt, Cas. I’m a survivor.”

“He sure is.” Gabriel joined the hunters in the kitchen, pulling Sam towards him. He tried to reach up to put his arms around Sam’s shoulders, but the taller man grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up. “Oi, put me down, Samsquatch. Everyone else is still sleeping. What’s going on in here, some secret plot I should know about?”  
“Not quite.” Sam responded, chuckling. “Bobby’s basically let one of his hunter cabins out to me and Dean, and it has room for four people- Cas has said he’d like to come with us, would you?”  
“Damn, Sammy. Of course I’ll come. I have a feeling we’ll be sticking together for a while yet.” Gabriel twirled a lollipop that he’d seemingly got out of nowhere around his fingers and grinned at Sam.

\-- Castiel --  
The rest of the house woke not long after that, and when Dean again proposed Cas and Gabe moving in with him and Sam, Chuck had been hesitant at first. He’d seemed reluctant to let go of his sons, but after a look from Amara, he relented. They were adults now, and had free rein to go where they wished, Amara insisted. She could clearly see, Cas mused, how attached the two Shurleys had become to the two Winchesters.

At some point during the long conversation about making preparations for them to move, Castiel began to drift off. It crossed his mind how far he’d come now, the moment he’d had with his family the day before still fresh in his memory. He’d never be able to fill that hole his family left behind, but Dean provided him with a new kind of warmth and safe feeling that he’d never experienced before, one he knew he wanted to keep and never let go.

For the first time in sixteen years, Castiel truly felt at peace.


End file.
